LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

\ 

Class 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN 
GOVERNMENT 

WHETHER  SHE  VOTES  OR  NOT 


BY 

WILLIAM  H.  ALLEN 

Director,  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  and  National 
Training  School  for  the  Study  and  Adminis- 
tration of  Public  Business 
Author  of  "  Efficient  Democracy,"  "  Civics  and  Health,"  etc. 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY 
1911 


•A* 


Copyright,  1911, 

1  BY   DODD,    MEAt)    &    CO. 

Published,  November,  1911 


PREFACE 

^WOMAN'S  fundamental  part  in  government  is  to 
do  efficiently  what  her  position  requires  of  her  as  in- 
dividual member  of  society:  mother,  sister,  wage- 
earner,  wage-payer,  purchaser.  No  woman  has  the 
right  to  be  a  problem  or  a  problem  creator,  no  matter 
how  usefully  occupied  with  other  people's  affairs. 

Of  increasing  importance  is  woman's  second  part 
in  government,  that  of  member  of  voluntary  non- 
official  organization  or  group :  woman's  club,  social 
settlement,  trade  union,  educational  council,  private 
charity.  Women's  organizations  when  inefficiently 
conducted  may  hamper  government,  just  as  efficient 
team  work  by  women  will  always  make  efficient 
government  easier. 

Woman's  third  part  in  government  is  that  of  di- 
rect, conscious  influencer  of  public  opinion  and  of- 
ficial action.  Here  her  influence  is  limited  by  what 
she  knows,  sees,  wants  and  talks  about  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  days  in  the  year,  whether  she  has 
the  ballot  or  not.  For  this  third  part  the  most  urgent 
need  is  for  methods  to  insure  straight-seeing, 
straight-thinking  and  straight-acting  on  public  ques- 
tions between  election  times. 

Woman's  obligation  to  serve  is  measured  by  her 
opportunity  to  serve.  To  suggest  some  definite  next 
steps  which  women  —  not  voting  or  voting,  alone  or 

v 

226670 


vi  PREFACE 

collectively  —  must  take  in  order  to  live  up  to  their 
opportunities  and  obligations  to  serve,  is  the  purpose 
of  this  book. 

Just  because  these  steps  are  chiefly  between- 
election  steps,  my  first  intention  was  to  treat  them 
in  such  a  way  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  tell 
whether  the  writer  believed  the  ballot  would  or  would 
not  be  given  to  women.  But  it  soon  became  clear 
that  in  evading  an  issue  which  at  the  present  moment 
stirs  womankind  in  two  continents,  I  was  making  the 
way  harder  for  my  suggestions.  Therefore,  I  de- 
cided to  state  candidly  my  belief  that  the  time  is 
coming  when  women  will  not  only  be  permitted  but 
will  be  expected  to  vote,  however  irksome  or  disil- 
lusioning the  duty  and  privilege  may  prove. 

Even  if  both  political  parties  were  convinced  and 
remained  convinced  that  woman's  entrance  into  the 
political  field  as  voter  would  be  injurious  to  govern- 
ment and  to  woman's  progress,  party  expediency 
would  still  bring  woman  suffrage. 

Whatever  else  political  parties  have  before  them 
their  chief  aim  is  to  win.  In  balancing  possible 
good  against  possible  evil  any  uncertain  evils  of  suf- 
frage are  bound  to  seem  relatively  slight  when  com- 
pared with  the  certain  benefits  of  winning  next  year's 
election  and  the  next. 

Voting  will  prove  to  be  no  more  a  matter  of  sex 
than  running  a  college  or  church  or  business  of- 
fice. Any  woman  who  can  run  a  charity  organiza- 
tion, a  suburban  home,  a  typewriter,  a  boarding 
house,  a  sales  counter,  a  loom  with  one  hundred 


PREFACE  vii 

spindles  or  a  class  room  with  sixty  children,  will 
find  voting  so  easy  and  so  simple,  and  so  transient  in 
its  satisfaction,  that  she  will  wonder  at  woman's  anx- 
iety to  do  it. 

Because  ninety-nine  out  of  one  hundred  problems 
of  government  are  sexless,  the  suggestions  here  made 
relate  as  well  to  men  as  to  women.  Yet  because 
women  are  to-day  idealizing  the  ballot  as  a  means  of 
improving  government  and  accelerating  social  prog- 
ress, this  book  deals  particularly  with  woman's  three- 
fold relation  to  government  between  elections.  It 
aims  not  to  settle  but  to  raise  questions,  to  encourage 
self-analysis  and  study  of  local  conditions,  and  to 
stimulate  interest  in  methods  and  next  steps  for  get- 
ting done  what  we  all  agree  should  be  done  to  make 
democracy  efficient. 


CONTENTS 

PREFACE 

I     THE  EXPANSION  OF  WOMAN'S  PI/ACE 

PAGE 

Outside  is  inside  the  home  to  stay  .....  3 

Are  you  a  problem  or  problem  creator?  ...  4 

Woman's  place  an  economic  question  ....  6 

How   important  is   woman's  work   outside  her 

home?   .............  7 

The  number  not  the  type  of  new  woman  is  new  8 

Do  women  want  the  ballot?  . 9 

II     SOME  SIDETRACKING  QUESTIONS 

Clearing  the  way  for  next  steps 13 

Are  women  moved  by  personal  considerations?  .  13 

Are  women  reasonable? 14 

Are  women  emotional? 15 

Could  women  bear  arms? 16 

Will  women  abolish  the  political  picnic?  ...  17 

In  what  are  women  superior  to  men?  ....  18 

Are  women  corruptible? 19 

Is  suffrage  a  success  in  Colorado,  etc.?  ...  20 

III     METHODS  NOT  PURPOSES  IN  CONTROVERSY 

Method  not  purpose  divides  women      ....  25 
Method  not  purpose  is  likewise  the  chief  contro- 
versy in  politics  and  statecraft 26 

Carrie-nationing  government:  a  dubious  method  27 
Government  method  has  heretofore  received  less 

attention  than  government  purpose  ....  28 
ix 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

To  interest  women  in  methods  and  next  steps  is 

one  of  government's  greatest  needs  ....  29 

Numerous  handbooks  on  next  steps  in  govern- 
ment are  needed  by  men  and  women  alike  .  .  30 

IV     WOMAN'S  FIRST  VOTING 

The  probable  evolution  of  woman's  interest  .     .  35 

Being  registered  as  eligible  to  vote 35 

Woman's  first  primary 36 

Woman's  first  ballot  for  candidates     ....  38 

Getting  out  the  woman's  vote 40 

Protecting  the  vote 41 

Interpreting  the  vote 42 

The  woman  voter's  first  disappointment  ...  44 

The  slip  'twixt  voting  for  and  getting  ....  45 

The  slip  'twixt  promising  and  doing     ....  47 

V     TRYING  SHORT  CUTS  TO  EFFICIENT  GOVERN- 
MENT 

Are  there  short  cuts  to  efficient  government?  .     .  53 

Are  there  too  many  voters? 54 

Should  there  be  a  higher  minimum  and  a  maxi- 
mum age  limit? 55 

Should  there  be  a  property  qualification?  ...  56 

Should  there  be  an  educational  qualification?  ,     .  58 

Should  there  be  preferential  voting?     ....  61 

Should  there  be  compulsory  voting?      ....  62 

Is  the  ballot  too  long? 63 

Are  nominations  too  indirect? 65 

Will  the  referendum  help? 68 

Referendum's  official  handbook:  Oregon  ...  72 

Will  the  initiative  help? 73 

Will  the  recall  help? 74 

Will  government  by  commission  help?  ....  77 

Are  there  too  many  elections? 79 

Getting  back  to  definite  steps  and  needs  ...  81 

Some  things  the  ballot  cannot  do  ....  93 


CONTENTS  xi 

VI     A  METHOD  OF  STUDY  WITHIN  THE  REACH  OF 
ALL, 

PAGE 

The  power  of  knowing 87 

When  does  knowing  become  evidence?  ....  88 

Testing  evidence:  "desire  to  know"      ....  90 

Testing  evidence:  "  unit  of  inquiry  "  and  "  count "  91 

Testing  evidence :  "  comparison  " 93 

Making  "  pin  maps  " 95 

Testing   evidence:  "subtraction"   and   "percen- 
tage"   96 

Testing  evidence:  "summary" 98 

Testing  evidence:  "classification" 98 

VII     NEXT  STEPS  IN  EFFECTIVE  PUBLICITY 

Systematizing  use  of  newspaper  and  magazine  .  103 

Volunteer  voters'  leagues 105 

Making  party  platforms 106 

When  new  laws  are  made 108 

Women  lobbying:  watching  legislation  .     .     .     .111 

Municipal  reference  libraries 113 

Is  "Budget"  a  stranger  to  you? 114 

The  making  of  public  budgets 114 

Can  women  help  make  budgets? 115 

Taxpayers'  hearings 117 

Oppose  subterranean  hearings 124 

Budget-making  by  state  legislatures   ....  125 
Who  shall  publish  municipal  facts?      ....  126 

Efficient  citizenship  bulletins 127 

Are  your  official  reports  educational?  .     .     .     .128 


VIII     NEXT  STEPS  TOWARD  100%   PHILANTHROPY 

Should  voluntary  civic  bodies  be  efficient?   .      .  133 

Are  women  under  the  Law  of  Trusteeship?  .      .  135 

Talk  programmes  for  women's  club  meetings   .  138 

Work  programmes  for  women's  clubs  ....  140 


xii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  city  beautiful 142 

Vagrancy  in  begging  and  in  art 145 

Does  the  public  library  belong  to  you?  .     .     .  147 

John  Ernest:  Librarian -. •     .     •.  148 

Conservation  of  religious  energy 150 

How  much  community  work  should  churches  do?  151 

Humanizing  the  churches 152 

Summer  lethargy  in  good  work  ......  153 

Loan  friends  vs.  loan  sharks 156 

Are  you  proud  of  your  public  charities?  .  .  .  157 
Taxing  everybody  for  private  charities  .  .  .160 
Appealing  for  good  causes  .......  163 

Philanthropy's  wastebasket .165 

Efficient  will-making  and  efficient  giving  .  ..  .166 
What  is  municipal  research? 170 

IX     HAS  WOMAN  APTITUDE  FOR  HEALTH  WORK? 

Voluntary  sanitary  associations 177 

Health  dynamos:  state  secretaries  of  health  .     .  179 

State  health  conferences .  181 

Stamping  out  transmissible  diseases     ....  182 

Insuring  clean  water 189 

Insuring  clean  milk     ....     ...     .....  190 

Minimum  tests  for  milk ,.     .  192 

Interesting  the  grocer  in  clean  milk  ....  193 

Teaching  mothers  how  to  keep  milk  clean   .     .  194 

Score  card  the  test  of  clean  milk 195 

State's  responsibility  for  clean  milk  .....  197 

Keeping  babies  alive 197 

Saving  babies  through  official  agencies     .     .     .  201 

Some  tests  of  success  in  saving  babies  ....  203 

Homes  vs.  hospitals  as  baby  savers  .     .     ...     .  204 

Caroline  Rest  School  for  expectant  mothers  .     .  205 

Insuring  pure  foods 206 

Insuring  pure  drugs 207 

The  Great  American  Fraud:  patent  medicines  .  208 

Woman's  responsibility  for  factory  conditions  .  212 

Some  tests  for  the  woman  purchaser  .         '        .  213 

Some  practical  tests  for  factory  women  .     .     .  215 


CONTENTS  xiii 

PAGE 

Are  you  helping  to  stop  child  labor?  ....  216 

Housing   evils 219 

Fight  housing  evils  at  home 220 

Causes  of  over-crowding  and  remedies  ....  221 

Are  your  streets  clean? 222 

Make  it  easy  to  keep  streets  clean  ....  .  223 
Helping  officials  keep  streets  clean  .....  225 
Where  unclean  streets  are  unforgivable  .  .  .  226 

Two  street  cleaning  jingles .  226 

Sanitary  survey  of  streets     .......  227 

The  disposal  of  refuse .  228 

Play  in  streets  ....     .     .•     .     .     ,.-    ...     .  230 

Play  in  parks    r.     .     .     .     ,.,    :.;     .:     .     „     .     .  231 

The  playground  movement    .     .......  233 

Soul  of  play  vs.  supervision 233 

Special  claims  of  sex 234 

A  national  children's  bureau  or  nation-wide  work 

for  children  by  all  bureaus? 237 

Health  jingles  .     . 239 

X     How  WOMEN  MAY  HELP  THEIR   SCHOOLS, 
PUBLIC,  PRIVATE  OR  PAROCHIAL 

What  is  the  matter  with  the  American  public 

school? 243 

Do  the  schools  need  outside  help? 244 

Reasons  for  outside  cooperation  with  schools   .  244 

School  health  and  philanthropy 247 

What  some  Chicago  mothers  are  asking  .      .     .  249 
What  the  Department  of  Patrons  of  the  National 
Education  Association  is  asking  about  school 

revenue      v     .     , 249 

What  women's  clubs  in  Oregon  are  asking  .  .  250 
Compulsory  health  with  compulsory  education  .  251 

Watching  school  sanitation 251 

Do  rural  schools  need  health  supervision  ?  .     .     .  252 

Reading  the  health  index  at  school 253 

Play  at  school 254 

The  school  census 255 


CONTENTS 

PACE 

Watching  effective  school  attendance  .     .     .     .256 
Watching  non-promotion  and  "  acceleration  "     .  257 

School  mortality 262 

Self  government  by  school  children      ....  262 
The  school  course:  12  or  10  years?  .     .     >.     .     .  264 

The  school  curriculum •  265 

Choosing  and  promoting  teachers  .....  266 

"  Scoring  "  teachers  for  efficiency 267 

What  should  school  boards  know?  ....     .  267 

Publicity  of  school  facts 269 

A  symposium  on  school  reports 270 

Civic  instruction  through  public  schools  .     .     .  271 
State  departments  of  education  ......  273 


XI     WHERE  "  POLICE  GRAFT  "  LURKS  OR  FLAUNTS 

Tests  of  public  decency 279 

Are  you  ashamed  of  your  public  corrections?  .  280 
What  is  your  part  in  public  corrections?  .  .  .  282 
Does  justice  do  injustice?  .......  283 

Several  kinds  of  probation 286 

The  children's  court 289 

Can  women  stop  the  social  evil? 291 

If  segregation  of  the  social  evil  is  right,  is  it 

wrong  to  oppose  it? 294 

Will  women  abolish  the  saloon? 296 

Police  efficiency 299 

A  much  needed  study  which  women  might  finance  304 
Agencies  for  enforcing  the  law  which  have  never 
yet  been  adequately  studied  and  never  currently 

tested 305 

A  few  indexes  to  police  efficiency  .....  306 

XII     METHODS  THAT  MAKE  "  GOOD  GOVERNMENT  " 
EASY 

Is   the   balance   sheet   beyond   woman's   under- 
standing?   311 

Outwit  the  grafter  by  accounting 314 


CONTENTS  xv 

PAGE 

Short   weights    and    measures    for    women    pur- 
chasers         315 

The  public  as  purchaser  .........  320 

The  public  as  auto  owner 323 

Inspection  of  public  purchases  and  payrolls  .     .  324 

Audit  as  a  part  of  inspection 327 

What  $100  found  out  as  to  Montclair's  method 

of  doing  business 329 

When  the  public  builds  buildings  .....  330 
Safeguarding  construction  of  all  buildings  .     .  332 

When  the  public  builds  streets 334 

Efficient  fire  protection 335 

Assessing  property 338 

Watching  city  and  state  revenues 342 

What  can  women  do  about  franchises?  ....  344 

Merit  tests  for  public  service 346 

A  business  doctor  for  Uncle  Sam 351 

Reasons  for  efficiency  in  national  business  .     .  352 

XIII     TRAINING  FOR  THE  STUDY  AND  ADMINIS- 
TRATION OF  PUBLIC  BUSINESS  .      .         357 


1 

THE  EXPANSION  OF  WOMAN'S  PLACE 


Outside  is  Inside  the  Home  to  Stay 

WOMAN'S  interest  in  affairs  outside  her  home  or  other 
place  of  employment  and  recreation  has  come  to 
stay.  Of  no  woman  is  this  more  true  than  of  those 
who  cherish  the  home  as  woman's  particular  sphere. 

Outside  interests  come  to  the  home,  whether  home- 
keepers  go  outside  or  not.  The  church  sends  visitors 
and  circulars ;  the  charity  sends  pictures  of  the 
slums;  the  school  sends  instructions  to  remove  eye 
defects  or  adenoids;  the  health  department  sends  its 
house-to-house  visiting  nurse;  the  art  museum  sends 
invitations  and  appeals.  Horizon-wideners,  such  as 
the  theater,  sweat  shop,  drainage  canal,  customs  re- 
forms, strikes  against  unsanitary  conditions,  come 
regularly  with  the  monthly  magazine,  religious 
weekly  and  daily  paper. 

Outside  is  inside  to  stay. 

Domestic  servants  exchange  experiences  at  em- 
ployment agencies.  Trade  unions  seek  to  make  re- 
cruits of  foreigners.  In  sermons,  problems  of  the 
time  displace  Noah's  ark  and  Jonah's  whale.  There 
is  incessant  demand  for  instruction  in  sex  hygiene. 
Mail  order  houses  go  to  the  remotest  farm.  Ped- 
dlers and  insurance  agents  seek  out  those  who  can- 
not read.  Back  of  every  fight  against  ignorance  or 
crime  soon  springs  some  commercial  motive,  seeking 
to  attract  the  interest  of  the  inside  woman  and  to 
make  money  by  informing  her  about  outside;  anti- 


4       WOMAN'S  PA&T  IN  GOVERNMENT 

coffee  cereals,  anti-alcohol  drugs,  anti-tuberculosis 
farms,  anti-fat,  anti-ugly,  anti-burglar,  anti-fraud. 

The  whole  world  is  arrayed  against  the  exclusive 
inside.  It  is  as  anti-social  to  battle  against  outside 
interest  as  against  outside  air. 

Woman's  interest  tends  to  run  as  far  as  her 
economic  and  social  relations.  Women  themselves 
are  organizing  to  make  her  wonder  about  the  force 
and  direction  of  the  human  currents  upon  which  she 
looks  and  of  which  she  is  a  part.  Will  she  talk  ac- 
curately or  inaccurately,  think  intelligently  or  un- 
intelligently  of  outside  affairs?  Think  and  talk 
women  must,  and  about  outside.  Outside  is  inside 
to  stay. 

"  Women  everywhere  are  waking  up,  thinking, 
judging,  longing1  for  activity."  Wake  they  will. 
Shall  their  waking  create  or  solve  problems? 

Are  You  a  Problem  or  Problem  Creator? 

Whether  woman  votes  or  not  she  has  no  right  to 
be  a  social  problem  or  problem  creator.  Her  credit 
should  exceed  her  charge  account.  The  result  of  her 
living  should  be  to  reduce  not  increase  society's  diffi- 
culties, to  facilitate  not  hinder  social  progress. 

It  is  not  enough  for  a  woman  to  wish  to  avoid 
being  a  problem.  To  find  out  whether  or  not  she  is 
a  problem,  or  is  creating  problems,  is  a  duty  in- 
dependent of  the  ballot,  which  confronts  the  "  home  " 
woman  as  well  as  those  who  are  active  outside. 

It  is  no  small  thing  to  keep  out  of  the  class  of 
problem  creator.  It  cannot  be  done  by  mere  general 


ARE  YOU  A  PROBLEM?  5 

intelligence,  by  devotion  to  home  or  by  contempla- 
tion of  "the  paradise  that  lies  at  the  feet  of  the 
mother."  It  requires  study  and  information  about 
other  people's  work  and  needs.  Good  intention  when 
uninformed  and  inefficiently  directed  creates  social 
problems  as  April  showers  bring  May  flowers. 

Woman  is  a  problem  creator  if  she: 

Does  not  know  how  to  keep  her  baby  from  having 
summer  complaint 

Does  not  know  what  her  child  is  doing  at  school, 
or  whether  the  school  is  efficient 

Sleeps,  lives  or  works  in  a  badly  ventilated  room 

Gives  money  or  food  to  street  beggars 

Thinks  that  flies  or  mosquitoes  or  transmissible  dis- 
eases are  dispensations  of  Providence,  rather 
than  evidence  of  neglect 

Lowers  her  efficiency  as  worker  and  mother  by  dis- 
obeying health  laws 

Thinks  her  daughter  should  be  satisfied  with  idle- 
ness at  home  until  marriage 

Lies  or  permits  her  agent  to  lie  about  her  taxes 

Does  penance  for  withholding  taxes  by  small  gifts 
to  uplift  work 

Concentrates  her  attention  on  small  fractions  of 
her  duty  and  opportunity  as  citizen 

Thinks  she  has  a  right  to  be  supported  by  some 
man  without  giving  value  for  all  she  costs 

Spends  without  serving 

Trifles  with  her  problems 

Notes  and  quotes  public  men  inaccurately 

Thinks  reform  is  a  question  of  voting,  rather  than 
of  getting  specific  things  done 

Fails  to  see  that  the  intelligence  needed  by  de- 
mocracy is  intelligence  as  to  government,  official 


6       WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

acts,  and  community  needs  not  met,  rather  than 
intelligence  as  to  ethics,  history,  art  or  fiction 
Fails  to  see  that  "  either  her  public  spirit  will  grow 
or  her  private  character  will  decline  " 

Woman's  Place  an  Economic  Question 

Of  what  woman  of  your  acquaintance  can  it  be 
truly  said  that  her  place  is  "  home  "  ? 

Of  her  time  what  proportion  is  spent  within  her 
home  on  work  or  thought  having  to  do  solely 
with  her  home  ? 

Is  she  able  to  be  about? 

Of  what  do  her  guests  and  children  talk? 

What  papers,  magazines  and  books  does  she  read? 

Woman's  place  shifts  with  her  age  and  with  her 
economic  and  marital  status.  Over  seven  million 
American  women  are  now  placed  by  circumstances,  or 
place  themselves,  in  four  hundred  gainful  occupa- 
tions. 

In  1910  a  public  dinner  was  given  in  London  to 
fifty  women  engaged  as  contributors  or  editors  upon 
the  new  Encyclopedia  Britannica.  It  is  seriously 
proposed  to  establish  in  France  an  Academy  of 
Science  for  Women. 

The  business  and  professional  woman  has  de- 
veloped as  naturally  as  the  great  merchant  class  de- 
veloped in  the  Middle  Ages  or  the  world-wide  in- 
dustrial classes  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

In  which  of  the  following  list  of  places  for  woman 
is  she  so  obviously  out  of  place  that  you  would  ex- 
clude or  withdraw  her? 


WHERE  WOMEN  ARE 


Home  as  mistress 
Others'  home  as  employe 
Lecture  platform 
School  as  teacher 
School  as  scrubwoman 

Opera  box 
Opera  chorus 
Beauty  parlor 
Resort  as  boarder 
Resort  as  cook 

Farm 

Cafe  as  spender 
Cafe  as  waitress 
Steamer  as  smuggler 
Steamer  as  stewardess 


Magazine  as  writer 
Magazine  as  subject 
Sales  counter  buying 
Sales  counter  selling 
Factory 

Charity  as  benefactor 
Charity  as  beneficiary 
Charity  as  collector 
Slum  as  social  worker 
Slum  as  resident 

Court  as  lawyer 
Court  as  juror 
Court  as  probation  officer 
Court  as  defendant 
Court  as  visitor 


How  Important  is  Woman's  Work  Outside  Her 
Home? 

Important  enough  to  put  the  machinery  of  the 
world  out  of  business  if  women  should  go  on  a  strike 
to-morrow. 

What  church  do  you  know  that  would  continue  to 
open  its  doors  if  women  stopped  going? 

What  Sunday  school  do  you  know  that  would  con- 
tinue if  women  stopped  teaching  and  attending? 

What  uplift  work  do  you  know  that  would  be  worth 
describing  in  annual  reports  if  women  stopped 
working  and  giving? 

What  department  store  could  last  twenty-four 
hours  if  women  stopped  buying? 

What  theaters  would  pay  dividends  if  85%  of  the 
audience  stopped  going? 


8       WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  Number  Not  the  Type  of  New  Woman  is  New 

The  newness  of  the  new  woman  is  in  her  number 
and  ubiquity,  not  in  her  work  or  her  talk. 

Novels,  like  history  and  biography,  teem  with  evi- 
dence that  in  all  times  woman's  sphere  has  included 
men  and  world  events  outside  her  home.  Pericles, 
Caesar,  Washington,  Jefferson,  Frederick  the  Great, 
Napoleon,  and  Shakespeare  had  wives  or  women 
friends  who  could  talk  knowingly  about  the  world's 
ways. 

Roman  ladies  from  time  to  time  organized  to  ob- 
tain legislation. 

Mary  and  Martha  were  wide  awake  sympathizers 
with  the  apostles  and  with  the  world  awakening 
which  they  furthered. 

Good  Queen  Bess  and  stern  Catherine  of  Russia, 
like  the  women  of  the  Renaissance,  were  shapers  and 
leaders  of  public  thought. 

It  is  not  the  new  woman  who  is  new,  but  the  world 
in  which  she  lives  and  about  which  she  reads,  hears, 
asks  questions,  thinks,  talks  and  writes.  Othello  has 
infinitely  more  competitors  now  and  Desdemona  in- 
finitely more  sources  of  interesting  narrative. 

The  advanced  woman  of  other  days  concealed  her 
interest  behind  a  pretense  of  ignorance  or  went  into 
a  convent.  To  find  scope  for  organization,  diplo- 
macy and  leadership  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  be- 
come an  abbess.  Skilled  indirectness  is  beginning  to 
give  place  to  skilled  directness  in  women's  ways  as 
well  as  in  international  diplomacy. 


*  NEW  WOMAN  IS  NOT  NEW  9 

When  we  say  that  all  great  men  were  made  by 
their  mothers,  who  has  in  mind  women  who  were  un- 
able to  sympathize  with  their  sons  or  to  look  with 
their  sons'  eyes  on  places  outside  their  home? 

The  chief  difference  between  the  new  woman  and 
her  predecessors  is  that  the  former  finds  it  harder 
to  be  sure  of  eternal  truths  without  knowing  more 
mundane  facts  than  her  ancient  prototype.  Even 
for  making  small  talk  eternal  truths  are  somewhat 
threadbare,  and  need  concrete,  up-to-date  illustra- 
tions. 

Do  Women  Want  the  Ballot? 

Not  yet. 

The  majority  have  not  yet  thought  enough  about 
it.  In  fact,  there  is  such  fear  that  the  majority  of 
women  do  not  yet  wish  the  ballot  that  the  suffrage 
leaders  oppose  a  referendum  for  testing  woman's 
wishes. 

Governor  Hughes,  Senator  Root  and  many  other 
prominent  leaders  have  said  that  women  may  have  the 
ballot  as  soon  as  they  want  it.  President  Taft  said 
to  a  national  conference  of  women  at  Washington  in 
1910:  "Your  task  is  not  in  convincing  man,  but  in 
convincing  your  own  class." 

But  whether  the  majority  of  women  want  to  vote 
is  not  the  question  which  demands  answer,  however 
important  it  may  be  in  theory.  The  handful  of 
women  who  are  active  in  demanding  the  ballot  as  a 
matter  of  abstract  right  and  public  expediency  are 
so  managing  the  handful  of  men  who  are  responsible 


10     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

for  party  decisions  that  the  vote  will  soon  be  given 
to  women.  It  is  not  worth  while  discussing  now  what 
fraction  of  women  want  to  vote.  Our  task  is  as 
rapidly  as  possible  to  make  all  women  capable  of  us- 
ing the  vote  when  they  get  it. 


HAVE 

WE 

ENOUGH 


SOME  LIBRARIES  DARK  ROOMS 

HOSPITAL  BEOS          ROTTEN  HOSE 
PLAYGROUNDS  VAGRANTS 

SCHOOL  BURS  SCHOOL  SINKS 

POLICEMEN  BURGLARS 

MILK  INSPECTORS  INFANT  MORTALITY 
ATTENDANCE  OFFICERS  TRUANTS 
STREET  SPRINKLERS  TUBERCULOSIS 
CHILDREN*  UBRAKCS  TAGWS 

Whether  She  Votes  Or  Not 


n 

SOME  SIDE-TRACKING  QUESTIONS 


Clearing  the  Way  for  Next  Steps 

IT  is  to  be  regretted  that  far-sighted  educators  have 
not  so  prepared  women  to  discuss  the  suffrage  and 
their  threefold  relation  to  government  that  by  this 
time  we  might  contemplate  the  civic  problems  con- 
fronting women  without  being  compelled  to  discuss 
certain  questions  now  in  controversy  regarding 
woman's  attributes. 

For  this  book  I  prepared  a  digest  of  the  arguments 
for  and  against  suffrage  as  culled  from  the  literature 
on  this  subject  catalogued  at  the  Astor  Library > 
from  propagandist  reports  and  leaflets,  and  from  the 
Debater's  Hand-  Book  on  woman  suffrage.  I  am 
finally  omitting  them  because  so  many  of  them  are 
inconclusive  and  beside  the  point. 

For  the  purpose  of  clearing  the  way  for  a  presenta- 
tion of  certain  next  steps  to  which  women  —  in  the 
home  or  out  of  the  home,  suffragist  or  anti-suffra- 
gist —  are  certain  to  give  increasing  attention, 
a  number  of  minor  questions  —  of  sufficient  im- 
portance, however,  to  have  side-tracked  much  dis- 
cussion of  woman's  part  in  government  —  are  taken 
up  here  at  the  outset. 

Are  Women  Moved  by  Personal  Considerations? 

Interesting  as  this   question  is   it  has  no  special 

relevance  to  woman's  suffrage  more  than  to  woman's 

employment.     Saleswomen,  like  salesmen,  are  certain 

13 


U     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

to  discriminate  between  customers  on  personal 
grounds;  customers  retaliate  in  kind. 

One  does  not  stop  liking  or  disliking  people  when 
one  votes  any  more  than  when  one  teaches  school. 

Refuse  to  discuss  this  question  with  any  person 
who  starts  with  the  assumption  that  men  are  not  moved 
by  personal  considerations.  So  notoriously  suscepti- 
ble to  such  appeals  are  men  that  on  them  depend 
political  parties,  platforms,  campaign  heroes  and 
candidates. 

The  way  for  society,  as  for  the  individual,  to 
secure  protection  against  personal  considerations  is 
to  locate  them  and  learn  to  look  at  each  purchase, 
each  official  act  or  each  party  program  so  as  to 
separate  the  personal  from  the  impersonal  considera- 
tions. 

Are  Women  Reasonable? 

Most  men  are  not. 

Many  women  are. 

Being  reasonable  is  a  habit  not  a  gift  of  sex. 

It  is  one  of  the  constant  surprises  of  suffrage  de- 
bate that  it  seems  worth  while  to  prove  that  women 
are  or  are  not  inferior  to  poor  man  in  reasoning  from 
cause  to  effect  in  matters  of  government.  No  more 
irrational  human  being  could  exist  than, —  any  one 
of  the  ten  men  voters  you  first  think  of.  What  man 
do  you  know  that  is  less  ^treasonable  than  Jane 
Addams  or  Ida  Tarbell? 

Being  reasonable  as  a  voter  is  quite  different  from 
being  imitative,  undecided,  stupid  or  orthodox. 


FACTS  DISCIPLINE  EMOTION          15 

Neither  men  nor  women  can  be  reasonable  without 
trying;  neither  can  they  fail  to  be  reasonable  if 
they  remember  accurately  what  they  see  and  what 
happens  after  election  to  their  preelection  hopes  and 
fears. 

Are  Women  Emotional? 

Yes,  if  they  are  worth  while. 

So  are  successful  men  —  statesmen,  editors, 
preachers. 

So  are  all  successful  leaders  and  all  faithful  fol- 
lowers. 

Few  people  are  more  emotional  than  those  who 
have  themselves  under  control  and  enjoy  checking 
their  emotions  before  they  "  emote."  Controlled 
emotions,  such  as  usually  characterized  Washington 
and  Lincoln,  are  the  most  enjoyable  kind  just  as  a 
furnace  which  consumes  its  own  smoke  gives  the  most 
heat  from  its  coal. 

Control  over  emotions  is  a  habit.  The  sex  that 
gave  us  Bernhardt  and  Terry  can  acquire  this  habit 
in  voting  as  it  can  acquire  any  other  habit. 

Election  and  post-election  disappointments  are 
splendid  training  for  the  emotions,  as  are  election 
and  post-election  successes.  Friends  and  opponents 
combine  in  large  numbers  to  remind  us  of  faith  mis- 
placed or  justified. 

Women  heretofore  mildly  emotional  or  even  hys- 
terical will  go  through  a  calming  process  when  they 
find  themselves  debited  or  credited  with  their  last 
election  debauch  and  forecasts.  Emotional  or  not, 


16     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

we  all  want  to  be  thought  good  prophets  and  fairly 
consistent. 

What  could  be  more  emotional  —  in  the  weak  sense 
—  than  the  average  man's  voting? 

So  emotional  and  inflammable  have  been  men 
voters,  especially  in  crises,  that  expert  campaigners 
have  almost  as  many  methods  of  blinding  the  vision 
of  men  voters  as  there  are  drugs  for  stimulating  or 
quieting  the  nerves.  Rum,  Romanism  and  Rebellion 
defeated  James  G.  Elaine  for  the  presidency.  The 
German  vote,  the  Irish  vote,  the  colored  vote,  the 
Italian  vote,  the  Catholic  vote,  all  have  their  emo- 
tional open  sesame.  Both  conservatism  and  radical- 
ism are  so  emotional  that  a  few  simple  stock  phrases 
will  stir  each  to  a  white  heat  of  enthusiasm  or  in- 
dignation. 

There  is  no  more  important  lesson  for  the  voters 
of  this  country  to  learn  than  that  public  discussion 
of  government  has  been  on  an  emotional  basis  al- 
most all  of  the  time  for  a  hundred  years.  Women 
can  get  it  off  that  basis  by  improving  upon,  not  by 
emulating,  man's  example. 

Could  Women  Bear  Arms? 

Why  not? 

I  do  not  see  how  anybody  could  ask  that  question 
after  once  seeing  woman's  success  in  getting  into 
one  of  New  York  City's  subway  or  Brooklyn  Bridge 
cars  during  the  rush  hours. 

Men  now  leave  the  most  unpleasant  tasks  to 
women ;  women  nurses  work  harder  than  men  doctors ; 


WOMEN  ARE  "  GOOD  MIXERS  "        17 

the  most  disagreeable,  hardest  jobs  in  most  offices 
are  done  by  women. 

The  bravest  man  that  ever  lived  would  run  away 
from  a  woman,  whether  she  had  arms  or  not,  rather 
than  face  an  open  conflict.  It  is  surprising  that  so 
much  time  is  spent  on  discussing  so  hypothetical  a 
situation  as  that  this  country  should  be  so  pressed 
for  soldiers  as  to  wish  women  to  bear  arms.  Anyway, 
most  men  would  rather  go  to  war  than  be  left  be- 
hind to  do  the  hard  work  that  women  must  do  when 
taking  the  place  of  arms  bearers. 

This  is  a  good  question  to  refuse  to  discuss  until 
after  one  hundred  other  things  have  been  threshed 
out. 

Will  Women  Abolish  the  Political  Picnic? 

At  first,  in  spite  of  woman's  reputation  for  so- 
cial aptitude,  it  takes  a  little  wrench  of  the  imagina- 
tion to  picture  a  woman's  political  picnic.  But 
picnics  and  turkeys  and  ward  heelers  and  profes- 
sional good  friends  will  last  as  long  as  there  is  ap- 
preciation of  them. 

Women  will  unquestionably  throw  themselves  into 
competition  for  personal  standing  in  their  districts. 
The  way  is  already  paved  by  head  workers  of  social 
settlements  and  district  nurses  who  have  developed 
"  mixing  "  to  a  high  degree  of  efficiency. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  social 
functions  connected  with  politics  will  increase  rather 
than  decrease  with  woman's  vote.  In  this  field  the 
partially  settled  districts  that  have  heretofore  tried 


18     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

woman  suffrage  can  contribute  little.  Experi- 
ence, however,  with  woman's  electioneering  in  Eng- 
land demonstrates  not  only  her  success  as  a  mixer, 
but  her  enjoyment  in  a  kind  of  social  work  that  may 
have  fewer  drawbacks  and  more  attractions  than  the 
settlement  work  and  church  club  service  to  which 
women  have  previously  given  so  much  attention. 

In  What  Are  Women  Superior  to  Men? 

As  a  side-track  this  question  is  potent. 

For  many  ages  women  have  found  it  pleasing,  as 
men  have  found  it  successful,  to  have  extravagant 
things  said  about  woman's  moral  superiority.  So 
it  is  taken  for  granted  in  almost  all  talks  about 
woman's  suffrage  that  woman  will,  of  course,  either 
look  at  government  questions  from  a  higher  moral 
altitude  or  else  lose  what  Senator  Root  calls  "  the 
sweet  and  noble  influence  of  her  character." 

When  you  think  how  small  a  chance  moral  su- 
periority has  to  show  itself  in  voting,  what's  the 
use  of  challenging  either  extreme? 

"  Pretty  is,  as  pretty  does  "  applies  to  the  prac- 
tical use  of  moral  superiority  as  well  as  to  children's 
looks. 

If  you  must  be  side-tracked,  the  following  ques- 
tions may  be  of  help: 

When  you  compare  the  sexes,  how  many  of  either 

sex  are  you  talking  about? 
Do  you  know  of  any  bad  women  ? 
Do  women  ever  drink  alcoholic  beverages  ? 
Do  women  ever  tempt  men  to  drink? 
Do  women  ever  smuggle? 


LIGHT  HELPS  MORALS  19 

Do  "  good  "  women  ever  like  "  bad  "  men? 
Do  women  ever  have  any  part  in  the  social  evil? 
Do  women  ever  profit  from  promoting  that  evil? 
Do  women  ever  swear  off  taxes  justly  due? 
Do  women  ever  waste  their  incomes  ? 

Do  women  ever  neglect  babies  ? 

Do  women  ever  throw  rubbish  on  the  street? 

Are  women  ever  selfish? 

Are  women  ever  unjust  in  competition? 

Are  women  ever  vulgar  or  fond  of  vulgar  books? 

Do  women  ever  go  to  questionable  plays? 

Do  women  ever  gossip? 

Do  women  ever  deceive? 

Are  women  ever  uninformed? 

Do  women  ever  misplace  confidence? 

Are  Women  Corruptible? 

Rarely  when  people  are  looking. 

People  can  arrange  to  be  looking  most  of  the 
time. 

Whether  women  are  more  or  less  corrupt  than  men 
is  irrelevant  so  far  as  government  is  concerned,  for 
"  good "  governors  will  look  for  efficient,  sound 
policy  and  adequate  results  and  not  for  corruption. 
If  some  women  are  more  successful  than  most  men 
in  defending  acts  that  are  partly  or  wholly  wrong, 
this  idiosyncrasy  is  offset  by  a  somewhat  keener  de- 
sire to  seem  to  be  entirely  in  the  right. 

It  is,  however,  only  fair  to  themselves  for  women 
voters  to  recall  that  indirect  bribes  are  even  among 
men  more  frequent  and  more  insidious  than  direct 
bribes. 


20     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

To  condone  incompetence  because  the  incompetent 
has  a  perfectly  splendid  manner  or  sings  divinely  or 
helps  raise  money  for  my  charity  or  belongs  to  my 
church  may  easily  do  more  harm  than  flagrant  graft. 

When  contemplating  woman's  incorruptibility  and 
the  inestimable  service  she  will  render  when  voting, 
try  to  use  smuggling  as  an  equilibrator.  When  you 
hear  of  smuggling,  do  you  think  of  a  man  or  a 
woman?  Do  you  know  any  women  who  ever  re- 
turned from  Europe  without  smuggling?  Is  it  in- 
conceivable that  you  yourself  would  put  a  bit  of  lace, 
a  pair  of  mittens  or  a  note  in  a  newspaper  carried 
for  one  cent  through  the  United  States  mail  with  the 
understanding  that  there  shall  be  no  enclosures? 

Any  harm  ignorant  and  vicious  women  may  do 
with  the  ballot  will  probably  prove  useful  in  calling 
attention  to  the  absurdity  of  letting  ignorant  and 
vicious  men  vote  or,  for  that  matter,  letting  intelli- 
gent and  virtuous  men  vote  ignorantly  and  viciously. 

Is  Suffrage  a  Success  in  Colorado,  Idaho,  Wyoming 
and  Australia? 

Who  cares? 

Who  knows? 

Who  dares  to  question  it? 

That  the  great  majority  in  suffrage  states  pro- 
claim its  success  may  be  significant  or  may  mean  only 
that  men  with  public  or  social  ambition  are  filled  with 
that  gratitude  (and  caution)  which  has  been  defined 
as  a  "  lively  sense  of  favors  (or  disfavors)  to  come." 

The  negative  may  quote  Judge  Ben  B.  Lindsey: 


THE  RIGHT  TO  MAKE  MISTAKES     21 

"  Woman  suffrage  has  not  done  any  more  for  re- 
form than  manhood  suffrage  and  it  will  not  do  it  in 
the  future." 

The  affirmative  may  quote  Judge  Ben  B.  Lindsey: 
"  In  a  case  where  it  is  a  clear  moral  issue,  woman's 
vote  is  always  on  the  side  of  morality,  justice  and 
decency." 

If  woman  suffrage  had  sent  Wyoming  and  Colo- 
rado to  the  eternal  bow-wows,  such  testimony  would 
be  swept  aside  by  the  suffragists  of  Massachusetts  and 
New  York,  who  would  nonchalantly  reply :  "  Whether 
Colorado  or  any  other  of  the  equal  suffrage  states 
has  been  injured  is  not  the  point,"  or  with  equal  ef- 
fectiveness, "  It  simply  goes  to  show  that  the  men 
and  women  of  Wyoming  or  Colorado  have  not  suf- 
ficiently used  their  opportunities."  Had  suffrage 
been  an  unqualified  fulfillment  of  its  promises,  the 
anti-suffragist  would  say :  "  These  partially  settled 
states  are  by  no  means  typical." 

If,  after  a  test  of  fifty  years,  universal  votes  for 
women  should  show  a  net  loss,  the  simple  question 
would  be :  "  Haven't  we  women  the  right  to  make 
.mistakes?  " 

To  have  intelligent  women  is  more  important  than 
to  have  good  government.  Women  do  have  the  right 
to  make  mistakes,  follow  will-o'-the-wisps,  make  heroes 
of  foolish  or  bad  men,  look  for  panaceas  in  bad 
policies,  change  their  minds, —  to  learn,  as  the 
normal  mind  must  learn,  by  experience,  by  compar- 
ing results  with  effort  and  by  relating  effect  to 
cause. 


I     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  vital,  immediate  questions  arer 

How  can  the  suffrage  be  best  used? 
How  can  its  dangers  be  minimized? 
How  can  women  get  ready  for  it? 
How  can  they  learn  from  their  mistakes  ? 


THE   REMEDY 

INFORMED    TAXPAYERS 

INFORMED    ABOUT    WHAT? 

GOVERNMENT    ACTS 

COMMUNITY    NEEDS 

HOW? 
BY    ADEQUATE     RECORDS 

WHEN? 
ALL    THE    TIME 


A   Budget  Exhibit  Sign 


in 

METHODS  NOT  PURPOSES  IN  CONTRO- 
VERSY 


Method  Not  Purpose  Divides  Women 

WOMAN'S  mind  is  divided  on  the  suffrage  question 
only  because  opinions  differ  about  the  way  to  get 
what  all  women  want. 

Do  you  know  any  woman  who  does  not  think  that 
woman's  influence  should  be  constantly  exercised 
for  the  right? 

Do  you  know  any  woman  who  would  say  that  it 
is  enough  for  women  to  be  happy  without  en- 
couraging happiness  in  others,  or  to  be  orna- 
mental without  promoting  beauty  for  others? 

Do  you  know  any  woman  who  thinks  that  women 
ought  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  making  the 
world  better,  with  training  citizens,  creating 
wholesome  public  sentiment,  and  promoting  the 
fights  against  corruption  and  unsound  princi- 
ples? 

If  we  observe  the  suffragist,  anti-suffragist,  and 
indifferent  of  our  day,  we  see  more  likenesses  than 
differences.  They  extol  the  same  virtues  and  hate 
the  same  faults  in  government.  They  all  want 
justice.  They  all  wish  to  preserve  the  normal 
superiority  of  woman  and  her  keener  sensibilities. 
They  all  want  woman  released  from  the  bondage  of 
ignorance  and  believe  in  her  power  to  become  in- 
formed. 

They  agree  upon  the  country,  but  disagree  upon 
the  road  to  travel.  They  all  want  to  escape  Egypt 
and  enter  Palestine.  Some  demur  to  the  Red  Sea, 

25 


26     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

the  manna  diet  and  forty  years  in  the  wilderness. 
They  disagree  as  to  methods  of  exercising  their 
beneficent  influence,  and  as  to  the  effect  of  woman's 
vote  upon  man's  vote,  upon  government  standards 
and  upon  the  home. 

Method  Not  Purpose  is  Likewise  the  Chief  Con- 
troversy in  Politics  and  Statecraft 

Do  you  know  anybody  who  does  not  think  that 
there  should  be  equal  opportunity  before  the 
law? 

Who  favors  private  monopoly  if  it  can  be  helped? 

Who  thinks  preventable  diseases  should  be  un- 
checked in  schools,  public  graft  licensed,  court 
verdicts  sold,  or  police  departments  allied  with 
vice  ? 

Who  denies  government's  duty  to  promote  "  life, 
liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  "  ? 

Did  the  corrupt  politicians  of  your  city  ever  admit 
that  their  candidate  was  corrupt  or  ask  the 
voters  to  authorize  obvious  graft? 

Did  you  ever  have  an  election  where  a  "  moral  " 
step  was  opposed  on  any  other  ground  than  that 
it  was  not  really  moral  or  that  it  "  would  not 
work"? 

The  capitalist's  objection  to  socialism  is  not  so 
much  that  abolishing  or  equalizing  capital  would  be 
undesirable,  as  that  it  "  can't  be  done  "  or  "  won't 
work." 

In  national,  as  well  as  in  state  and  local  elec- 
tions, the  difference  between  great  parties  is  almost 
always  one  of  method,  not  of  purpose. 

Political  platforms  sound  very  much  alike.     The 


METHOD  NOT  PURPOSE  DIVIDES      £7 

one  made  last  may  succeed  in  getting  in  a  few  extras 
that  the  other  overlooked,  but  seldom  does  one 
clearly  favor  an  end  that  another  clearly  opposes. 
How  much  and  what  humanity  should  do,  and 
how  much  of  that  government  should  do,  are  ques- 
tions of  method  that  make  some  of  us  oppose  while 
others  propose  definite  next  steps. 

Carrie-Nationing  Government  a  Dubious  Method 

"  Advertise "  the  suffrage  cause  by  encouraging 
pretty  girls  to  do  what  they  particularly  enjoy 
doing  if  other  people  think  it  is  improper ;  "  ad- 
vertise "  by  teaching  lovely  and  susceptible  girls 
to  appeal  to  questionable  if  not  positively  low 
motives  in  strange  men  who  are  glad  to  buy  cake 
for  The  Cause  if  they  may  joke  about  its  sweet 
purveyor ;  "  advertise  "  The  Cause,  by  distributing 
literature  marked  "  for  young  men  only  "  or  promote 
the  sale  of  books  by  similar  suggestions. 

What's  the  difference? 

Go  to  prison  for  disorderly  conduct  and  surpass 
in  martyrdom  and  freakishness  for  sake  of  the  ballot, 
or  later  for  sake  of  one  of  the  ends  the  ballot  is 
supposed  to  serve! 

What's  the  difference? 

Shooting  up  a  town  is  disorder  whether  the 
shooter-up  is  male  or  female,  drunk  with  suffrage  or 
with  alcohol. 

What  illegal,  immoral,  sensual  or  freakish  act  is 
justifiable  before  suffrage  that  will  not  be  equally 
justifiable  after  the  ballot  is  possessed?  Hanging 


28     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

"with  one  arm  to  a  lamp  post  with  one  arm  and 
two  legs  in  the  air"  is  as  good  an  argument  for 
tariff  revision  downward  as  for  woman  suffrage. 
Will  not  men  and  women  converted  to  the  suffrage 
cause  by  such  methods  expect  similar  shock  and 
drugging  to  interest  them  in  using  the  suffrage? 
The  Carrie-Nationing  method  is  so  unimaginative! 

Government  Method  Has  Heretofore  Received  Less 
Attention  than  Government  Purpose 

Do  you  see  how  a  woman  who  refuses  to  be  inter- 
ested in  government  methods  as  distinct  from 
government  purposes  may  exercise  a  harmful 
influence  on  her  husband's  or  brother's  thought 
about  government,  whether  she  votes  or  not? 

Suffragists  and  anti-suffragists  alike  have  dis- 
cussed men  and  purposes  more  than  methods ;  general 
doctrines  more  than  the  details  from  which  those 
doctrines  are  made;  high  elevations  rather  than  the 
steps  by  which  those  high  elevations  may  be  reached. 
As  to  which  benefits  shall  be  sought  and  which  evils 
attacked,  there  is  not  enough  difference  to  be  inter- 
esting. There  is  little  more  to  be  said  of  lawyers' 
books,  men's  literature  on  government,  men's  efforts 
to  secure  "  good  government."  To  this  concentra- 
tion upon  aim  and  purpose  with  its  accompanying 
disregard  of  method  and  next  steps,  is  due  the  past 
success  of  charlatan  and  grafter  in  American  poli- 
tics. 

There  is  no  reason  why  it  should  be  harder  for 
women  to  be  intelligent  about  method  in  govern- 


METHOD  IS  INTERESTING  29 

ment  than  about  method  in  housekeeping  or  "  good 
breeding." 

To  Interest  Women  in  Methods  and  Next  Steps  is 
One  of  Government's  Greatest  Needs 

When  women  plan  a  dinner  they  break  up  their 
general  picture  into  its  component  parts  —  indi- 
vidual guests,  their  congeniality  with  each  other, 
their  tastes,  table  decorations,  plates,  entrees,  roast, 
salad,  character  of  service,  etc. 

Government,  like  dinners,  is  not  just  a  great  big 
"  good  thing,"  a  desire  or  a  puzzle,  but  a  large 
number  of  definite  little  things  which  need  to  be 
properly  arranged  —  definite  steps  which  need  to  be 
taken  each  in  its  own  time  and  properly  adapted  to 
those  that  need  to  go  before  and  after. 

To  govern,  women  must  be  more  interested  in  the 
sequence  of  acts  than  in  the  sequence  of  men,  in 
government  steps  than  in  parties  and  promises. 

Balloting  has  to  do  with  men  and  methods  only 
once  in  two  (one  day  in  730)  or  four  years  (one 
in  1440  days),  and  has  then  very  little  to  do  with 
methods  or  steps. 

It  is  obstructive  of  good  government  for  large 
numbers  of  governed  or  governing  to  believe  things 
possible  that  cannot  be  done,  or  to  think  things 
hard  that  are  easy,  or  to  mispraise  and  miscondemn 
official  conduct.  Women,  like  men,  are  certain  to 
mispraise  and  miscondemn  unless  they  know  methods 
and  watch  next  steps. 


30     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Numerous  Hand  Books  on  Next  Steps  in  Govern- 
ment are  Needed  by  Men  and  Women  Alike 

From  all  parts  of  the  country  comes  evidence  that 
our  wanting  and  our  seeing  have  gone  far  beyond 
our  getting  and  our  knowledge  of  steps  for  getting. 

This  book  can  serve  best  if  it  illustrates  the  need 
for  hand  books  on  method  in  government,  and  if  it 
prompts  their  preparation  from  a  number  of  points 
of  view  and  for  a  number  of  different  purposes. 

Methods  of  work  for  better  government  cannot 
be  successfully  standardized,  or  imparted  by  college 
instruction,  without  a  new  kind  of  literature  which 
combines  the  two  ideas  of  (1)  report  of  facts  and 
(2)  hand  book  of  instruction  in  getting  things  done. 

Men  who  vote  for  the  same  president,  same  gov- 
ernor, same  mayor,  should  be  able  to  think  in  the 
same  way  of  the  same  methods,  as  well  as  of  the  same 
problems  and  same  goal. 

If  you  wanted  to  organize  a  municipal  league  or 
bureau  of  municipal  research,  how  could  you 
find  out  how  to  go  about  it,  where  to  begin,  and 
what  to  do  next? 

If  you  were  appointed  president  of  a  board  of  edu- 
cation, where  could  you  look  for  a  list  of  definite 
steps  to  be  taken? 

When  public  speakers  tell  you  how  to  make  the  city 
beautiful,  how  to  save  babies,  or  increase  public 
interest  in  schools,  do  they  tell  you  where  you 
can  find  booklets  and  literature  showing  you  how 
to  use  their  advice? 

Do  you  know  how  to  organize  a  suffrage  society 
or  anti-suffrage  society? 


HAND  BOOKS  ARE  NEEDED  31 

Does  there  exist  in  your  city  or  state  any  hand 
book  of  advice  to  those  who  want  to  increase  the 
efficiency  of  chambers  of  commerce,  political 
parties,  reform  agencies,  uplift  societies,  etc.? 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

"MY  PEOPLE  ARE  DESTROYED 

FOR  LACK  OF  KNOWLEDGE" 

Hose  a  4:3 
As  To 

Preventable  Crime 
Preventable  Ignorance 
Preventable  Tuberculosis 
Preventable  Infant  Mortality 
Preventable  Housing  Evils 
Preventable  School  Absences 
Preventable  Waste 
Preventable  Corruption 

"MY  PEOPLE  ARE  DESTROYED 
FOR  LACK  OF  KNOWLEDGE- 

Concerning 

School  Needs  Not  Met 
Playground  Needs  Not  Met 
Hospital  Needs  Not  Met 
Police  Needs  Not  Met 
Probation  Needs  Not  Met 
Actual  Conditions 
Available  Remedies 

THERE  NEED  BE  No  LACK  OF 
KNOWLEDGE  THIS  YEAR 

ROBERT    L.    STEVENS    FUND 

for 

Municipal   Research  in  Hoboken,   N.  J. 
Efficiency  Citizenship,  18 


The  Budget  Exhibit  and  Budget  Conference  Method  of  Making 
Woman's  Influence  Felt 


IV 
WOMAN'S  FIRST  VOTING 


The  Probable  Evolution  of  Woman's  Interest 

ASSUMING  that  woman  will  have  suffrage  thrust  upon 
her  whether  she  achieves  it  or  not,  I  have  tried  to 
suggest  in  the  following  pages  the  probable  evolu- 
tion of  her  voting,  her  experiments  with  "  short 
cuts,"  her  inevitable  demand  for  help  in  taking 
definite  next  steps  between  election  times. 

Being  Registered  as  Eligible  to  Vote 

Wherever  proof  of  residence  and  of  age  is  not 
recorded  In  writing  before  election  day  ballot  box 
frauds,  bribing  and  disorder  prevail. 

In  most  places  voters  must  now  signify  their  in- 
tention to  vote,  or  at  least  must  claim  their  right 
to  vote,  in  a  particular  voting  precinct  on  one  of 
several  days  set  from  one  to  four  weeks  before 
election.  This  is  called  personal  registration,  which 
dates  in  New  York  City  from  1840,  and  in  the  state 
from  1859. 

Those  registering  tell  their  full  name,  residence, 
place  and  date  of  birth,  where  they  voted  last,  how 
long  they  have  lived  in  the  voting  precinct,  how  long 
in  the  city,  how  long  in  the  state.  These  facts  are 
open  to  public  inspection.  Where  no  such  re- 
strictions exist  women  can  get  them  established, 
whether  they  have  the  vote  or  not. 

No  one  who  has  not  registered  in  advance  is  per- 
35 


36     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

mitted  to  vote.  Too  frequently  from  10%  to  40% 
register  who  do  not  vote. 

The  best  method  of  preventing  one  woman's  regis- 
tering in  another's  name  is  to  require  that  every 
person  registering  sign  her  name,  and  that  if  later 
challenged  when  voting,  she  sign  her  name  again. 

To  prevent  confusion  and  quarreling  "  chal- 
lengers "  or  "  watchers  "  properly  certified  by  parties 
or  factions  which  they  represent  are  permitted  to 
be  near  the  booth  on  both  registration  and  election 
days.  Each  party  is  allowed  but  one  watcher  at 
each  precinct  at  one  time.  The  theory  is  that  each 
party's  watcher  will,  of  course,  protect  his  party 
against  obvious  fraud.  It  has  been  found  that 
watchers  give  little  protection  if  they  are  either  un ob- 
serving or  timid-hearted,  or  willing  to  betray  their 
party  and  wink  at  violations  of  the  law.  In  New 
York  City  women  have  watched  and  challenged  at 
recent  registrations  although  themselves  without  the 
vote. 

Woman's  First  Primary 

In  the  fight  for  suffrage  there  is  the  appeal  to 
emotion  plus  the  demand  for  military  discipline  and 
sacrifice  which  makes  for  heroism  and  partisanship. 
Once  having  won  there  will  come  a  reaction  and  for 
every  woman  who  will  be  anxious  to  use  the  ballot 
one  hundred  will  be  "  glad  it's  all  over." 

But  within  a  few  months  after  receiving  the  ballot 
the  woman  voter  will  be  compelled  to  think  about  her 
first  primary. 


WOMAN'S  FIRST  PRIMARY  37 

Who  shall  be  named  as  candidates  by  the  leading 
parties  ? 

What  kind  of  officers  does  she  think  they  will  prove 
to  be  if  elected? 

How  shall  she  choose  between  men  who  make  the 
same  promises,  if  she  knows  neither? 

Besides  voting  for  men  has  she  in  mind  the  meas- 
ures for  which  these  men  stand? 

What  seems  so  easy  now  when  she  has  not  the 
ballot  will  become  confusing.  Candidates  will  all 
talk  alike.  Moral  issues  will  be  as  thick  as  bacteria 
in  bad  milk. 

It  will  be  most  annoying  to  have  calls  at  all  hours 
of  the  day,  to  receive  letters  in  every  mail,  to  be 
buttonholed  on  the  street,  in  church  or  at  club  meet- 
ings, and  to  be  forced  again  to  go  through  the 
turmoil  that  characterized  the  campaign  for  the  bal- 
lot. 

It  will  be  futile  to  protest  indifference,  and  im- 
possible to  know  that  a  very  nicely  addressed  en- 
velope contains  an  appeal  to  vote  for  John  or  Mary 
Doe. 

If  you  do  not  go  into  the  convention  (so  long  as  it 
lasts)  you  have  little  or  no  influence.  If  you  do  go 
in  you  must  go  to  participate,  which  means,  as  in 
women's  clubs  for  example,  to  scheme,  to  maneuver 
and  to  fight.  Once  in  the  convention  the  chaos,  dis- 
order and  uncertainty  will  make  it  almost  impossible 
to  reach  an  unbiased  decision  unless  you  have  al- 
ready decided  which  leader  to  follow.  Several  prac- 
tical questions  will  arise: 


38     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Shall  the  primary  be  at  the  same  place  for  both 
men  and  women? 

Should  women  arrange  to  participate  in  the  pre- 
convention  gatherings  that  make  up  slates  for 
practically  all  conventions,  or  shall  they  organ- 
ize to  break  slates  as  they  did  at  the  National 
Education  Association  in  Boston  when  Superin- 
tendent Ella  Flagg  Young  was  elected  president 
in  1910? 

How  far  shall  your  interest  in  work  promised  in- 
fluence your  choice  of  men  ? 

Have  you  ever  known  a  candidate  so  bad  in  the 
eyes  of  opponents  that  some  women  did  not 
earnestly  support  him? 

Did  you  ever  go  to  hear  a  "  popular  menace  " 
where  you  did  not  find  other  women? 

Did  you  ever  know  a  fallen  hero  in  politics  whom 
large  numbers  of  women  did  not  enthusiastically 
support  ? 

Will  you  vote  for  a  candidate  in  spite  of  or  be- 
cause of  his  political  affiliations  ? 

What  are  you  going  to  do  when  confronted  with 
a  dilemma  such  as  faced  the  women  of  Colo- 
rado in  1910;  i.  e.,  to  oppose  the  saloon  they 
must  vote  for  the  beast  in  the  jungle;  to  oppose 
the  beast  in  the  jungle  they  must  vote  for  the 
saloon. 

Woman's  First  Ballot  for  Candidates 

The  first  ballot  among  the  recently  enfranchised 
women  in  the  State  of  Washington  was  cast  by  the 
women  of  Seattle  for  or  against  the  recall  of  a 
mayor.  The  issue  was  the  "  alleged  toleration  by 
the  mayor  of  vicious  resorts  and  his  appointment 
of  a  notoriously  unfit  chief  of  police." 


WOMAN'S  FIRST  BALLOT  39 

In  few  instances,  however,  will  woman's  first  ballot 
concern  an  issue  so  clearly  "moral"  and 'so  simple. 
On  the  contrary  most  first  votes  will  be  for  or 
against  a  long  list  of  candidates  for  offices  which  at 
the  time  of  their  first  vote  the  great  majority  of 
women  will  not  understand  or  care  about. 

Getting  ready  for  this  first  ballot  deserves  more 
detailed  attention  than  has  been  given  in  the  past  to 
newly  enfranchised  voters.  Balloting  by  women  will 
be  expensive  and  must  be  justified  by  results. 
Doubling  the  number  of  votes  will  mean  nearly 
doubling  the  present  election  costs.  Direct  and 
measurable  benefits  should  result  if  we  divert  a  million 
dollars  a  year  from  wages  and  income  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  giving  women  the  ballot. 

Fortunately  the  results  of  woman's  voting  are 
testable.  Women  must  learn  how  to  apply  these 
tests.  Their  problem  is  not  to  do  as  well  as  men  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  doing,  but  to  live  up  as  nearly 
as  possible  to  100%  of  their  own  opportunity. 

Efficient  use  of  woman's  first  ballot  means  organi- 
zation in  advance,  training  in  advance  and  continu- 
ous educational  work  with  each  eligible  voter.  It 
means,  moreover,  visits  for  the  purpose  of  persuad- 
ing women  to  register,  registering,  counting,  inter- 
preting the  vote  and  learning  lessons  from  it.  To 
take  each  of  these  steps  will  be  more  important  at 
woman's  first  ballot  than  to  vote  right  on  the  men 
and  issues  presented. 


40     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Getting  Out  the  Woman's  Vote 

While  election  day,  or  so  much  of  it  as  is  re- 
quired for  voting,  is  a  legal  holiday,  there  are  always 
scores  of  other  attractions.  If  the  sun  shines  it  is 
a  good  day  for  rowing,  golfing  or  house  parties ; 
if  it  rains  the  polls  seem  too  far  away,  and  there 
are  always  reasons  for  believing  that  your  vote  is 
not  needed. 

Getting  out  the  full  woman's  vote  will  be  no  small 
problem.  Many  will  be  timid,  others  obstinate  and 
others  sincerely  indifferent. 

The  stay-at-home  vote  will  be  very  large  at 
woman's  first  ballot  unless  some  unusually  exciting 
issue  is  presented,  such  as  free  silver  or  some  police 
scandal,  or  unless  some  central  organization  works 
efficiently  for  weeks  in  advance  from  house  to  house, 
through  newspapers,  billboards  and  public  meetings 
to  make  it  more  uncomfortable  for  any  woman  to 
stay  at  home  than  to  vote. 

That  staying  at  home  on  election  day  is  not  a 
feminine  trait  should  be  kept  constantly  in  mind. 
Even  in  Boston  in  January,  1911,  at  an  important 
election  for  school  trustees,  52,452  out  of  110,223 
registered  male  voters  stayed  at  home. 

In  the  very  common  indifference  of  voters  is 
rooted  the  practice  of  paying  men  to  vote  which  has 
recently  been  shown  to  thrive  among  the  American 
born  population  in  Adams  County,  Ohio,  in  Uncle 
Joe  Cannon's  county  in  Illinois,  in  rural  districts  of 
Delaware  and  Connecticut,  etc. 


PREVENTING  BALLOT  FRAUDS        41 

Protecting  the  Vote 

Getting  truth  out  of  the  vote  is  as  important  as 
getting  the  vote  out  of  qualified  electors. 

There  are  many  devices  for  confusing  voters  at 
the  last  moment.  Campaign  lies  are  sprung  one  or 
two  days  before  election  which  raise  enough  doubts 
so  that  many  voters  decide  not  to  vote  while  others 
vote  against  their  better  judgment.  Constant  vigi- 
lance, therefore,  is  needed. 

In  the  days  of  the  sticker  or  paster,  when  each 
party  printed  its  own  ballot  and  before  a  single, 
authorized  ballot  was  printed,  many  voters  found 
that  they  had  unwittingly  been  trapped  into  voting 
the  wrong  ticket  under  a  false  name. 

When  the  voter  cannot  read,  the  law  in  many 
states  permits  him  to  ask  for  help.  Two  parties 
often  conspire  to  trap  an  ignorant  man  into  voting 
for  the  man  and  party  he  wants  to  defeat  instead 
of  for  his  own  candidate  and  party.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  thousands  upon  thousands  of  votes 
for  Mayor  McClellan,  Governor  Hughes  and  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt,  as  well  as  for  Tammany  Hall  and 
other  corrupt  machines,  were  of  this  kind. 

Votes  may  be  lost  by  marking  the  ballots  wrong, 
by  inaccurateness  in  counting,  by  misinterpretation 
of  the  rules  regarding  the  ballots  or  by  actual  theft 
of  ballots.  Carelessness,  inaccuracy  and  misinter- 
pretation can  be  prevented,  but  not  by  the  ballot  or 
by  deploring  evil  tendencies.  Care,  accuracy  and 
right  interpretation  require  study,  courage,  persist- 


42     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

ence  —  all  of  which  are  in  the  line  of  greatest  re- 
sistance. 

It  is  unpleasant  to  remind  election  officers  of  mis- 
takes. I  was  once  a  watcher  in  the  famous  John 
Powers  district  in  Chicago,  and  when  my  count  dif- 
fered from  the  official  count  by  over  two  hundred 
votes  they  were  very  indignant  with  me  because  I 
refused  to  "  split  the  difference  "  so  as  to  save  their 
time  in  recounting. 

Do  you  know  any  woman  who  would  rather  "  split 
the  difference  "  than  correct  a  mistake  by  re- 
counting? Who  would  hesitate  to  suspect  an- 
other of  wishing  to  vote  illegally?  Who  would 
miss  her  appointment  with  the  polling  booth? 
Who  would  be  certain  to  have  good  reasons  for 
not  voting? 

Has  anybody  but  the  two  chief  political  parties  a 
complete  list,  house  by  house,  of  the  eligible 
voters  in  your  city  ? 

Interpreting  the  Vote 

If  after-election  explanations  of  defeat  resemble 
"whistling  through  the  graveyard,"  it  is  usually 
because  the  facts  have  not  been  candidly  stated. 
One  trouble  has  been  that  explanations  of  failure 
do  not  make  news.  Newspapers  cannot  afford  to 
spend  time  and  money  trying  to  make  the  public 
see  the  facts. 

Those  who  win  are  perfectly  satisfied  to  have  their 
winning  attributed  to  their  all  round  superiority. 

When  those  who  lose  are  machine  politicians,  they 
accept  their  losses  in  a  sportsmanlike  way  and  wait 


INTERPRETING  THE  VOTE  43 

for  the  wheel  of  fortune  to  turn.  When  those  who 
lose  are  earnest  "  good  men,"  they  do  not  wish  to 
incur  ridicule  and  criticism  for  not  being  good 
losers.  When  those  who  lose  are  reform,  independ- 
ent, or  fusion  parties,  they  are  usually  without  the 
money  necessary  even  to  analyze  the  vote,  to  say 
nothing  of  conducting  an  educational  campaign  that 
will  force  the  whole  community  to  see  what  the  vote 
really  did  mean. 

For  example,  if  a  majority  of  women  in  any  state 
should  vote  against  the  suffrage,  it  would  by  no 
means  prove  that  the  majority  of  women  did  not 
desire  to  vote.  On  the  contrary  it  might  mean 
merely  an  enormous  stay-at-home  vote.  Large 
numbers  really  desiring  to  vote  might  stay  at  home, 
forget  to  register,  be  sick  or  out  of  town  or  timid,  or 
might  not  see  the  opportunity  early  enough  or  not 
understand  what  they  were  to  do. 

Likewise  a  vote  for  suffrage  might  easily  mean 
a  desire  to  please  some  advocate  of  suffrage,  loyalty 
to  some  particular  leader  or  desire  to  avoid  censure 
from  one's  friends  among  the  suffragists. 

Interpreting  the  vote  means  studying  the  vote, 
which  means  study  in  detail  of  voters  and  forces  be- 
hind the  vote  and  an  outlay  of  time  and  money  such 
as  has  never  yet  been  given  to  municipal,  state  or  even 
national  elections.  There  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  wait  one  hundred  years  to  learn  the  real 
meaning  of  the  vote  against  Bryan  in  1906,  against 
Parker  in  1904,  and  for  Taft  in  1908.  Here  is  a 
field  for  some  philanthropist,  male  or  female,  able  to 


44     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

see  the  importance   of   interpreting  election    results 
for  male  and  female  voters  and  to  provide  the  funds. 

The  Woman  Voter's  First  Disappointment 

Woman's  first  ballot  is  certain  to  be  disappoint- 
ing for  a  large  number  of  woman  voters.  Many 
will  be  tempted  to  be  discouraged  or  cynical. 

Yet  the  right  of  the  majority  must  be  recognized. 
The  vote  makes  right  until  the  next  election  whatever 
wrong  seems  to  be  involved  in  the  program  of  those 
candidates  who  are  elected  by  a  majority  or  plurality 
vote. 

It  frequently  happens  that  minorities  elect  candi- 
dates opposed  by  the  majority.  More  men  voted 
against  Governor  Dix  than  for  him  in  1908;  more 
men  voted  against  Governor  Hughes  than  for  him. 
In  almost  all  close  elections  the  winning  candidate 
receives  less  than  half  of  all  votes  cast,  e.  g.,  Presi- 
dents Polk,  Taylor,  Pierce,  Buchanan,  Lincoln, 
Hayes,  Garfield,  Cleveland  and  Harrison.  As  in 
clubs  and  debating  societies  it  is  customary  to  fol- 
low even  a  hardly-contested  election  by  a  motion 
"  to  make  the  vote  unanimous,"  as  a  means  of  ex- 
pressing the  good  will  of  the  defeated  faction  and 
its  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  the  plurality,  so  in  gov- 
ernment all  citizens  are  expected  to  support  loyally 
the  successful  candidates. 

If  the  disappointed  voter  can  give  any  reasons  for 
believing  that  any  of  the  votes  cast  were  illegal  or 
that  an  improper  count  was  made,  she  can  secure 
a  recount.  If  there  is  no  evidence  of  fraud,  women 


KEEP  ELECTION  FIRES  ALIVE        45 

must  wait  for  another  election  no  matter  how 
erroneous  they  consider  the  judgment  of  the  win- 
ners. We  must  cultivate  that  capacity  for  rapid 
adjustment  which  enables  those  who  live  under 
monarchial  forms  of  government  to  say,  "  The  King 
(the  party  or  principles  you  approve)  is  dead;  long 
live  the  King  (the  successful  party  and  principles)." 

But  being  a  good  loser  does  not  require  renuncia- 
tion. If  no  attempt  is  made  to  correct  evils  while 
election  bitterness  and  disappointment  are  still 
keen,  evils  will  continue. 

A  new  organization  is  needed  in  every  com- 
munity which  shall  begin  the  day  after  election  to 
make  educational  use  of  all  lessons  from  the  last 
election,  tell  the  truth  about  pledges  kept  or  broken 
and  work  done  or  left  undone,  until  four  weeks  be- 
fore the  next  election  when  it  can  safely  rest  and 
leave  the  case  in  the  hands  of  various  parties  to  elec- 
tion excitement. 

Does  the  average  woman  lose  or  gain  courage 
under  disappointment? 

Do  most  men  or  women  rebound  from  a  defeat  and 
build  at  once  upon  its  lessons  for  the  next  year's 
work  ? 

Is  it  possible  to  secure  in  your  city  a  non-par- 
tisan, unprejudiced  analysis  of  election  results 
and  their  causes? 

The  Slip  'Twixt  Voting  For  and  Getting 
One  of  the  most  pathetic  things   about  popular 
suffrage   has   been   the   number   of  times   that   pre- 


46     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

election  pledges  were  broken.  One  of  the  most 
pathetic  things  that  will  follow  suffrage  for  women 
will  be  the  yawning  gaps  between  what  they  will 
vote  for  and  what  they  will  get. 

No  majority  ever  voted  for  dishonesty,  for  in- 
trigue, or  for  wasteful  government.  Yet  dishon- 
esty, intrigue  and  waste  have  characterized  our 
government  for  one  hundred  years. 

No  majority  ever  voted  for  saloons  which  believed 
that  prohibition  would  actually  stop  drunkenness. 

No  elector  ever  voted  for  broken  pledges  —  to 
him.  In  1908  7,678,908  men  voted  for  Mr.  Taft 
for  president,  the  vast  majority  of  them  in  the 
belief  that  they  were  voting  for  the  downward  re- 
vision of  the  tariff.  They  got  revision  upward  for 
many  of  the  articles  on  which  they  particularly 
wanted  the  tariff  lowered. 

The  curious  thing  about  it  all  is  the  facility  with 
which  candidates  try  to  persuade  electors  that 
election  promises  have  been  kept.  Disappointed 
as  President  Taft  was  with  the  failure  of  the  Re- 
publican congress  to  revise  the  tariff  downward,  he 
did  his  best  to  make  the  voters  believe  that  the  tariff 
actually  voted  after  election  was  the  tariff  promised 
before  election. 

Tammany  Hall  has  never  admitted  that  a  vote 
for  its  candidates  was  a  vote  for  gambling,  for 
prostitution  or  for  a  wide  open  town.  A  great 
majority  of  its  followers  have  always  believed  that 
voting  for  Tammany  Hall  was  voting  for  enforce- 


VOTING  FOR  VS.  GETTING  47 

merit  of  the  law,  for  cleanliness  and  for  a  square 
deal. 

Very  few  of  the  serious  faults  against  which  we 
now  complain  have  ever  been  openly  defended  by 
legislatures  or  by  officials.  There  is  generally  an 
unimpeachable  Edward  M.  Shepard  to  match  an 
unimpeachable  Seth  Low  in  order  to  make  it  dif- 
ficult for  a  voter  to  believe  that  any  party  stands 
for  disorder,  vice  or  injustice  and  to  confuse  the 
voter's  memory  as  to  the  last  slip  'twixt  voting  for 
and  getting. 

The  Slip  'Twixt  Promising  and  Doing 

The  gap  between  what  a  woman  might  do  as  a 
citizen  without  the  ballot  and  what  she  does  is  often 
greater  than  the  gap  between  official  duty  and  offi- 
cial achievement. 

The  "  baddest  "  men  are  the  best  promisers.  You 
never  heard  of  a  great  politician  who  confessed  alli- 
ance with  evil  or  who  failed  to  claim  that  he  stood 
for  the  purity  of  the  home  and  for  decency.  If 
he  favored  regulation  of  vice,  it  was  only  because 
he  wanted  to  give  better  protection  to  decency. 
Because  moral  issues  are  surprisingly  few,  and 
fewer  still  the  men  willing  to  stand  in  open  opposi- 
tion to  the  moral  side  of  an  argument,  all  men  claim 
that  their  particular  party  or  program  is  in  line  with 
individual  and  public  morals. 

Promises  satisfy  the  public  so  well  that  platform 
makers  vie  with  one  another  to  see  which  can  most 


48     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

eloquently    and    continuously    promise    the    greater 
benefits. 

Because  government  consists  of  innumerable  acts 
of  different  kinds  a  part  of  the  plausible  story  told 
by  those  who  try  to  harmonize  their  acts  with  their 
promises  is  pretty  sure  to  be  true.  For  example, 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  partisan  voters  in  1910 
saw  their  bitterness  against  the  Payne- Aldrich  tariff 
gradually  weaken  and  disappear  before  ex-Presi- 
dent Roosevelt's  argument  that  it  was  the  best  tariff 
the  country  ever  had  and  was  laying  the  basis  for 
a  fundamental,  equitable  and  scientific  revision. 

Rainbows  of  promise,  disappointment  and  con- 
fusion chase  each  other  so  quickly  that  many  voters 
resign  themselves  and  adopt  a  cynical  attitude  to- 
ward government  and  politics.  The  wise  wink  their 
eyes,  the  innocent  shrug  their  shoulders,  the  ma- 
jority shake  their  fists  and  fume  and  forget.  We 
try  voting  one  party  in  and  the  other  out,  in  the 
hope  that  a  rotation  of  parties  will  bring  the  same 
results  that  the  farmer  gets  from  rotating  his  crops. 
When  voting  time  comes  round  again  the  leaders' 
picnics  have  wiped  away  much  of  the  resentment 
and  the  old  party  line-up  seems  the  wisest  thing. 
For  years  to  come  the  great  majority  will  still  go 
this  way. 

The  woman  voter  will  never  learn  to  "  size  up  " 
candidates  so  as  to  protect  herself  against  the 
slip  'twixt  voting  for  and  getting  or  the  other  slip 
'twixt  promising  and  doing.  She  can,  however, 
equip  herself  to  recognize  the  gap  between  promising 


PROMISING  VS.  DOING  49 

and  doing,  if  efficient  methods  are  used  by  her 
leaders  to  compare  after-election  work  with  before- 
election  promises  and  to  provide  against  being  mis- 
led a  second  time  by  the  same  man,  or  same  woman. 

Masses  are  very  much  influenced  by  what  is  current 
talk  for  365  days  in  the  year.  Someone  should 
obtain  and  make  universally  known  proof  about 
official  acts  throughout  the  year,  as  repeatedly  sug- 
gested in  later  paragraphs.  But  while  learning  to 
do  this,  women  voters  will  jump  from  frying  pan 
into  fire,  and  believe  one  fairy  tale  after  another 
about  short  cuts  warranted  to  insure  predigested 
good  government. 


50     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 


JJriuat*  mailing  Olarfc 


"That   tdiooU    «h«B   be    progfestivel 


better.  «reA  cleaner,  recreation  more  a 


lovable  and  health  rate*  tod  civic  idea 


pfogreMively  higher" 

ROBERT  U  STEVENS  FUND  FOR 

MUNICIPAL  RESEARCH  IN  HOBOKEN 

Hodtto  Trurt  Buildia* 


PETTY  GRAFTING  FOUND 
IN   HOBOKCN 

'"Observer"  D«clar,d  te  He*.  Charged 
City  Fancy  Prices  for  ll>  Supplies 

Ncn-ark  Slat 


SCATHES   OF    JUSTICE 

Pnu  He.dline»  lor  April.  1911 

Bill  To  Stop  False  Weights  Now  a  Law— /rwy  Jovial 

CANNOT  HAVE  FALSE  MEASURES 
Possession  Constitutes 


E  TOLD  THE  TRUTH 

STEVENS  FUND 


Misdemeanor  under  New    «a  the  following 

column*  of 


THOUSANDS  OF  PEOPLE  STAMPEDE  THE  EXHIBIT 


Anxious  to  Know  How  Money  Is  Spent 

WHAT  DOES  IT  AW.  MEAJT  f  I  HAVJB  YOU  SEEN  THE 

V  7&AOB  AT  THE 


Infonrdng  the  Public  Between  Election  Times 


TRYING  SHORT  CUTS  TO  EFFICIENT  GOV- 
ERNMENT 


Are  There  Short  Cuts  to  Efficient  Government? 

THE  human  mind,  like  the  animal  mind,  is  so  con- 
stituted that  after  a  few  disappointments  it  seeks 
escape  by  trying  to  find  bars  out  of  cages,  holes  in 
fences  or  short  cuts  through  conventions  and  habits. 
On  this  instinct  the  quacks  of  medicine,  politics  and 
religion  have  thrived  since  the  beginning  of  time. 
To  this  instinct  women  voters  will  yield  as  inevitably 
as  our  grandfathers  and  grandmothers  took  measles, 
diptheria,  scarlet  fever  and  other  children's  dis- 
eases. We  must  go  through  a  period  of  "  catch- 
ing diseases  "  in  woman's  experiments  with  panaceas 
and  short  cuts  to  "  good  government."  The  quicker 
they  are  exposed  the  less  harm  can  be  done,  unless 
educational  processes  can  be  put  in  action  that  will 
enable  women,  voting  or  not  voting,  to  see  the  dif- 
ference between  the  real  and  the  apparent  causes  of 
government  weaknesses. 

The  first  disappointment  women  voters  will  attrib- 
ute to  candidates,  the  next  to  parties  and  hence  on  to 
various  other  mechanical  and  human  restraints  which 
they  will  try  to  correct  by  experimenting  with  at- 
tractively advertised  bargains  or  short  cuts. 

It  does  not  at  all  detract  from  the  merit  of  vari- 
ous proposals  hereafter  considered  to  remind  the 
woman  voter,  and  the  man  voter  as  well,  that  no 
scheme  will  be  invented  which  will  prevent  uninformed 

53 


54     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

or  misinformed  men  and  women  from  being  exploited 
and  injured  by  misgovernment. 

9 

Are  There  Too  Many  Voters? 

What  every  twenty-one-year-old  may  have  is  not 
treasurable.  Instead  of  doubling  the  voters  or  mak- 
ing it  compulsory  to  vote,  as  in  Austria  or  Belgium, 
perhaps  we  would  get  a  better  result  if  fewer  people 
voted.  When  one  sees  all  the  people  who  vote  now, 
one  wonders  whether  the  vote  is  not  already  made 
too  cheap. 

How  many  people  of  your  acquaintance  can  you 

think  of  who  really  ought  not  to  be  permitted  to 

vote  ? 

Are  there  many  women  in  this  number? 
Are  some  people  too  easily  influenced  to  be  trusted 

as  voters? 
Shall   we   exclude   spinsters   over   forty   or   wives 

who  are  not  mothers? 
Shall  we  advance  the  minimum  age  to  twenty-five 

and  shorten  the  maximum  to  fifty? 
Shall  we  rule  out  all  who  cannot  write  their  own 

names? 
Shall  we  exclude  all  who  cannot  pass  a  civil  service 

examination? 
Shall  we  disfranchise  men  who  cannot  work  or  who 

are  not  married? 
Shall  we  disfranchise  all  who  have  been  convicted 

in  criminal  courts  whether  they  serve  sentences, 

pay  fines  or  escape  with  reprimand? 
Shall  we  disfranchise  those  who  fail  to  vote  as  we 

now  disfranchise  those  convicted  of  selling  their 

votes? 


SHORT  CUTS  AND  BLIND  ALLEYS      55 


Shall  There  be  Higher  Minimum  and  Lower  Maxi- 
mum Age  Limits? 

Since  rights  always  impose  duties  and  since  it 
might  simplify  elections  to  have  fewer  voters,  per- 
haps it  would  be  wise  to  have  a  "  Well  done,  thou  good 
and  faithful  servant "  for  voters  as  well  as  for  army 
and  teaching  veterans. 

As  the  obligation  to  vote  becomes  more  generally 
recognized,  we  shall  arouse  sympathy  for  those 
veterans  who  find  voting  arduous  not  only  because  of 
the  excitement  and  responsibility,  but  also  because 
of  the  actual  physical  drain  of  going  to  inconvenient, 
unpleasant  places. 

In  these  days  twenty-one  is  pretty  young  even  for 
women;  younger  relatively  than  Athens'  voting  age 
—  eighteen.  The  so-called  higher  type  of  citizen 
is  not  through  college  at  this  time  or  is  not  quali- 
fied as  lawyer,  doctor,  dentist,  minister  or  teacher. 

Shall  the  old  age  limit  be  drawn  at  eighty,  seventy- 
five,  sixty-five  or  sixty? 

How  many  voters  would  be  dropped  from  the 
rolls  of  your  state  or  city  at  each  age  limit  above 
given  ? 

Would  those  above  the  maximum  age  be  listened  to 
more  attentively  if  without  the  vote,  as  likely  to 
be  more  free  from  partisan  influence? 

As  you  know  voters  and  issues,  would  your  com- 
munity lose  if  no  one  under  twenty-five  were 
permitted  to  vote? 

Would  you  rather  spare  those  between  twenty-one 
and  twenty-five  or  those  over  sixty? 


56     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Should  There  be  a  Property  Qualification? 

It  is  often  irritating  to  the  man  who  pays  the  bills 
to  see  the  town  loafer  count  for  as  much  at  the  polls 
as  himself;  hence,  the  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of 
permitting  no  one  to  vote,  at  least  on  matters  of  di- 
rect taxation,  who  is  not  a  direct  taxpayer. 

Yet  the  distinction  between  the  direct  and  indirect 
taxpayer  is  growing  more  unsatisfactory  and  indefi- 
nite every  year.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  is  a  "  tidy 
sum  "  even  in  New  York ;  forty  dollars  a  week,  two 
thousand  a  year,  equals  the  income  on  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  Is  the  non-earner  who  owns  fifty  thousand 
dollars  more  fit  to  vote  than  the  non-owner  who  earns 
two  thousand  dollars  a  year? 

Wives  earn  when  they  keep  house  —  how  much 
it  is  hard  to  prove.  Ministers  earn  on  an  average 
less  than  seven  hundred  dollars  a  year  and  own  little, 
if  any,  property.  There  are  lawyers  and  doctors 
and  college  professors  who  are  not-yet-earners  and 
more  still  who  are  not-yet-owners.  There  are  old 
men  who  used  to  be  earners  and  now  neither  earn  nor 
own.  If  all  these  were  to  be  excluded  from  voting 
we  should  take  the  ballot  from  many  who  are  compe- 
tent to  understand  its  meaning,  and  at  the  same  time 
are  most  directly  affected  by  the  way  taxes  are  spent. 

There  is  no  relation  between  understanding  public 
needs  and  possessing  property.  Time  and  again 
owners  of  property  have  shown  that  in  their  so-called 
miscalled  conservatism  they  often  fail  to  see  not 
only  what  is  best  for  the  public,  but  what  is  best  for 


PROPERTY  OWNING  SHORT  CUT      57 

their  own  property.  So  the  very  poor  repeatedly 
vote  for  men  and  policies  that  lower  their  earning 
power  and  deprive  their  children  of  opportunity. 

Women  have  not  been  satisfied  with  the  limited 
suffrage  granted  to  property  owning  women  in  New 
York  State,  but  demand  womanhood  suffrage. 

If  women  vote,   shall  only  those  vote  who  have 

property  ? 
Shall   those   be   excluded   who   are   spenders    and 

neither  toil  nor  spin? 
Shall  those  be  excluded  who  work  at  home  without 

specified  compensation  ? 
Shall  servants  be  permitted  to  vote  contrary  to 

the  interests  of  their  employers? 
Why  is  selling  one's  vote  heinous? 

Next  to  the  proverbial  "  stealing  sheep,"  no  meaner 
form  of  dishonesty  is  recognized  than  selling  one's 
vote.  It  is  thought  to  be  even  worse  than  buying 
votes.  In  Adams  County,  Ohio  (which  is  unique 
among  rural  districts  chiefly  in  having  been  found 
out),  it  has  developed  that  even  ministers,  Sunday- 
school  superintendents  and  owners  of  farms  have 
been  selling  their  votes.  In  fact,  almost  the  only 
man  in  that  county  whom  nobody  suspects  of  having 
sold  his  vote  in  the  1910  election  is  a  man  who  had 
gotten  so  avaricious  and  held  his  vote  so  high  that 
both  sides  agreed  not  to  do  business  with  him. 

But  why  does  nobody  consider  it  dishonest  or  mean 
if  the  owner  of  forests  in  Mississippi  votes  for  a 
congressman  pledged  to  vote  in  return  for  the  tariff 
on  lumber? 


58     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Our  pharisaical  horror  at  selling  votes  seems  to  for- 
get that  the  purpose  of  voting  was  not  originally,  and 
is  not  to-day,  to  express  the  opinion  of  citizens  with 
regard  to  what  would  be  best  in  some  vague  "  long 
run  "  for  the  greatest  number,  but  to  express  truth- 
fully each  voter's  economic  interest.  Women  frankly 
ask  for  the  ballot  to  further  their  industrial  interest. 

If  it  makes  no  difference  to  you  how  an  election 
goes,  why  should  you  not  sell  your  vote  to  the  high- 
est bidder? 

The  real  trouble  has  been  that  thousands  of  rich 
and  poor  alike  have  failed  to  see  the  -slightest  dif- 
ference between  a  Republican  and  a  Democratic  ad- 
ministration. Instead  of  thinking  too  much  of  our 
personal  interests  in  elections,  we  have  thought  too 
little.  The  way  out  is  not  to  work  up  mawkish  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  voting  for  the  interest  of  one's 
neighbor,  but  to  develop  more  definite  personal  inter- 
est. The  farmer  and  the  working  man  would  have 
come  to  ethical  voting  much  earlier  if  they  had  not 
been  misled  into  forgetting  their  direct,  personal 
interest  by  insincere  twaddle  about  the  country's 
good. 

Should  There  be  an  Educational  Qualification? 

There  is  nothing  more  reasonable  on  its  face  than 
the  demand  for  some  kind  of  educational  qualifica- 
tion for  voters. 

Obviously,  idiots  and  feeble-minded  persons  who 
cannot  possibly  know  what  the  candidates  stand  for 
or  what  they  are  should  not  be  permitted  to  vote 


EDUCATION  SHORT  CUT  59 

for  men  or  policies.  Is  it  less  obvious,  however,  that 
nobody  else  has  any  better  right  than  idiots  or  feeble- 
minded persons  to  vote,  if  she  knows  nothing  about 
the  particular  men  or  particular  policies  at  issue? 

Intelligence  that  is  not  used,  as  well  as  lack  of  in- 
telligence, may  serve  to  confuse  issues. 

While  we  all  agree,  therefore,  that  some  test  of  the 
voter's  knowledge  should  be  applied,  it  is  not  so 
easy  to  decide  just  what  the  voter  ought  to  know.  I 
have  never  seen  a  proposal  for  an  educational  quali- 
fication that  had  the  slightest  bearing  upon  the  in- 
telligence of  the  voter  with  respect  to  the  particular 
matters  for  or  against  which  he  must  vote. 

If  there  is  any  one  thing  that  in  ninety-nine  elec- 
tions out  of  one  hundred  it  is  not  important  for  the 
voter  to  know,  it  is  the  constitution  or  the  history 
of  the  United  States.  Equally  futile  in  deciding 
whether  a  man  or  woman  is  qualified  to  cast  a  ballot, 
is  knowing  when  Hannibal  crossed  the  Alps;  how 
Napoleon  came  back  from  St.  Elba;  the  number  of 
cubic  inches  in  a  gallon;  the  distribution  of  powers 
in  a  municipality  or  the  theory  of  its  organization; 
or  whether  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  the  thirteenth  or 
twenty-seventh  president  of  the  United  States. 

Furthermore  it  does  not  follow  because  a  man  of 
twenty-one  can  prove  education  enough  to  entitle 
him  to  vote  that  he  will  keep  sufficiently  informed  so 
that  at  the  age  of  forty  he  will  be  equally  intelligent 
about  public  problems.  Many  a  doctor  passes  an 
examination  at  twenty-five  who  is  utterly  unfit  to  treat 
sick  people  at  fifty.  Many  a  lawyer  qualifies  at 


60     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

twenty-five  who,  by  thirty,  has  only  useless  and 
damaging  information. 

The  only  kind  of  education  that  is  of  any  real 
use  to  voters,  except  for  drawing  artificial  lines  be- 
tween different  classes  in  a  community,  is  education 
regarding  each  particular  issue  at  stake  in  each  par- 
ticular election.  Ideally,  therefore,  an  educational 
qualification  should  be  applied  at  each  registration 
time.  For  example,  nobody  should  be  allowed  to 
vote  on  public  ownership  of  subways  who  has  no  bet- 
ter reason  for  voting  for  or  against  than  that  it  looks 
socialistic.  Nobody  should  be  permitted  to  vote 
against  Tammany  Hall  just  because  Lincoln  freed  the 
slaves  in  1863.  Nobody  should  be  allowed  to  vote 
against  a  Republican  candidate  because  the  United 
States  Bank  had  a  row  with  Andrew  Jackson.  Nor 
should  anybody  be  allowed  to  vote  for  or  against  a 
candidate  for  president  out  of  reverence  or  hatred  for 
Uncle  Tom's  Cabin. 

Practically  I  see  the  futility  of  urging  a  worth- 
while educational  qualification.  Years  after  we  are 
used  to  government  by  commission,  we  may  come  to 
the  time  when  five  or  ten  or  one  hundred  men  will  be 
selected  by  lot  on  the  main  street  of  your  town  and 
compelled,  as  jurors  are  now  compelled,  to  gain  evi- 
dence for  and  against  particular  policies  so  as  to  test 
the  public  pulse,  examine  the  public  mind  and,  on 
the  basis  of  such  evidence,  to  render  'a  verdict.  In 
the  meanwhile  there  are  a  few  educational  tests  that 
ought  to  be  seriously  considered  for  all  persons  who 
wish  hereafter  to  be  admitted  to  the  ballot. 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  TEST  61 

What  is  the  total  appropriation  for  the  city's 
(county's,  state's,  nation's)  current  expenses 
this  year? 

What  different  kinds  of  work  are  being  done? 

What  is  the  city's  sickness  rate  and  death  rate? 

How  many  children  ought  to  be  in  school? 

How  many  are  in  school? 

How  many  never  go  beyond  the  fifth  grade? 

Are  causes  of  nonpromotion  studied? 

How  many  are  without  sittings? 

If  subways  are  to  be  voted  for,  what  will  they 
cost?  Where  will  they  go?  How  will  they  re- 
lieve congestion? 

Are  citizen  complaints  promptly  attended  to? 

What  are  the  principal  community  need's  not  yet 
met? 

Sometime  a  community  that  sees  the  necessity  for 
applying  a  fitness  test  to  scrubwomen,  firemen,  school 
teachers,  clerks,  etc.,  will  also  see  the  advantage  of  im- 
posing a  proper  fitness  test  upon  all  persons  who 
wish  to  help  determine  what  a  community  shall  under- 
take to  do  through  its  government,  by  what  means 
and  through  what  men.  Such  tests  are  foreshadowed 
by  tests  now  suggested  for  naturalization  papers, 
which  emphasize  the  citizen's  rights  to  protection 
against  fire,  extortion,  disease,  etc.,  and  the  agencies 
and  methods  for  insuring  protection. 

Should  There  be  Preferential  Voting? 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  will  vote  in  1911  whether  or  not 
to  install  preferential  voting  i.  e.,  expressing  first, 
second,  third  choice,  etc.  As  in  debate  rankings, 


62     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

baseball  batting  records,  horse  show  or  county  fair 
awards,  etc.,  a  steady  second  best  will  often  rank 
higher  than  an  erratic  first  choice. 

But  picking  one's  first  choice  is  so  hard  and  com- 
plicated that  except  in  small  "  neighborly  "  places, 
preferential  voting  will  probably  not  be  either  pop- 
ular or  satisfactory. 

Should  There  be  Compulsory  Voting? 

Except  where  there  is  unusual  excitement  a  large 
fraction  of  qualified  voters  fail  to  register  and  a  large 
fraction  who  register  fail  to  vote. 

Oftentimes  the  most  important  elections  are  those 
which  are  quietest  and  arouse  the  least  interest. 

If  the  number  of  voters  is  doubled,  the  possible 
evil  of  the  not  yet  interested  voter  is  certain  to  in- 
crease. 

If  a  man  steals  sheep  he  is  indefinitely  disfranchised 
(if  he  is  caught  and  put  in  prison).  Yet  not-voting 
can  do  much  more  harm  than  stealing  sheep. 

To  disfranchise  a  man  for  an  election  when  he  par- 
ticularly wants  to  vote,  because  he  failed  to  vote  at  a 
preceding  election,  is  perfectly  fair  if  we  look  at 
suffrage  as  a  right.  Any  man  who  fails  to  exercise 
a  right  cannot  complain  if  the  right  is  taken  away 
from  him. 

But  to  disfranchise  a  man  for  neglecting  his  duty 
makes  that  man  incapable  of  doing  that  duty  next 
time.  Shall  the  public  punish  itself  for  the  sake  of 
rebuking  the  not-voter? 

Disfranchising   would  be   difficult   to   enforce   be- 


COMPULSORY  VOTING  SHORT  CUT     63 

cause  there  are  so  many  acceptable  excuses  for  stay- 
ing away  from  the  polls,  such  as  sickness  easily  certi- 
fied to  by  a  physician,  or  urgent  business  out  of  the 
city.  Unless  innumerable  excuses  were  recognized, 
fines  or  disfranchisement  for  not  voting  would,  in 
many  cases,  work  injustice. 

There  are  other  difficulties,  too.  The  poor  day 
laborer,  too  tired  to  go  to  the  polls,  ought  not  to  be 
taxed  the  same  amount  as  a  millionaire  who  would 
rather  pay  one  hundred  fines  than  take  the  trouble 
to  go  around  the  corner  to  the  barber  shop  or  cigar 
store  among  people  he  does  not  want  to  know,  to 
cast  his  ballot  for  people  he  does  not  know. 

There  is  little  promise  in  compulsory  voting. 

Is  the  Ballot  Too  Long? 

Obviously,  it  will  not  take  as  much  thought  to 
learn  about  four  or  five  men  as  about  thirty  or  thir- 
teen. For  a  time  many  of  us  will  be  carried  away 
with  the  promises  that  the  short  ballot  will  solve 
all  our  difficulties,  or  as  ex-President  Eliot  says, 
"is  absolutely  the  gist  of  all  constructive  reform  — 
the  only  way  to  get  rid  of  bosses  and  reforms." 

If  we  look  around,  however,  we  shall  see  that  in 
many  an  election  where  practically  no  candidate  but 
the  mayor  received  public  attention  the  worst  dis- 
graces were  later  found  to  be  in  the  mayor's  own  de- 
partments. 

When  Mr.  Seth  Low  was  elected  mayor  of  New 
York,  public  attention  was  concentrated  on  two  or 
three  men.  Yet  in  the  departments  immediately  sub- 


64     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

ordinate  to  Mayor  Low  administrative  evils  were  left 
unchanged,  such  as  inadequate  accounting,  improper 
control  over  supplies,  padded  payrolls,  ineffective 
commissioners  of  accounts  and  inspectors  of  weights 
and  measures.  Hence  incompetence  and  waste  at  the 
bottom  continued  to  foster  corruption.  As  one 
political  leader  said  who  was  known  to  be  in  politics 
for  his  pocket  not  his  health :  "  I  never  made  so  much 
money  in  my  life  as  under  '  reform  ' ;  then  I  dealt  with 
the  little  fellows  at  the  bottom  instead  of  dividing 
with  the  big  ones  at  the  top." 

In  few  cities  where  the  long  ballot  (up  and  down 
for  many  offices)  is  used  are  the  evils  greater  in 
the  departments  presided  over  by  the  lesser  candidates 
unknown  to  the  public,  than  in  the  other  departments 
for  which  the  lime-lighted  mayor,  comptroller  and 
prosecuting  officer  are  personally  responsible. 

Experience  with  men  who  are  the  center  of  election 
discussion  will  start  a  reaction  against  the  short  bal- 
lot and  will  cause  the  public  to  say :  "  If  we  had 
only  been  given  a  chance  to  vote  on  his  appointees, 
he  would  never  have  dared  to  name  such  obvious  in- 
competents or  unworthies." 

One  weakness  of  the  short  ballot  remedy  is  the 
claim  that  when  we  all  look  at  a  man  —  before  or  after 
election  —  we  make  him  responsible  for  his  actions. 
We  must  learn  that  officials,  no  matter  how  much  we 
look  at  them  or  talk  about  them,  will  feel  responsible 
only  for  what  we  know  of  their  official  acts.  If  we 
want  accountability  for  acts  the  public  must  know  the 
acts  themselves.  When  looking  at  the  actor,  Mayor 


SHORT  BALLOT  SHORT  CUTS    65 

McClellan,  the  now  governor  of  New  Jersey,  Wood- 
row  Wilson  —  then  president  of  Princeton  University 
—  said  he  was  the  best  mayor  the  city  ever  had. 
Analysis  of  his  acts  made  Mayor  McClellan's  admin- 
istration a  symbol  of  inefficient  organization  and  ex- 
travagant management,  as  shown. by  later  savings  of 
millions  of  dollars  and  later  correction  of  innumerable 
evils  that  fostered  graft  and  waste. 

For  the  strongest  arguments  in  support  of  the 
short  ballot  and  current  discussion  of  its  progress, 
address  The  Short  Ballot  Association,  New  York 
City. 

Are  Nominations  Too  Indirect? 

As  the  demand  grows  for  a  shorter  ballot  from  top 
to  bottom  we  find  another  demand  for  a  longer  bal- 
lot from  left  to  right.  Fewer  offices  to  vote  on  is 
flanked  by  more  candidates  for  each  office.  Thus  the 
direct  nomination  of  candidates  will  tend  to  nullify 
the  advantages  of  the  short  ballot. 

The  convention  or  indirect  method  of  selecting 
candidates  means  ordinarily  that  a  handful  of  per- 
sons decide  upon  the  candidates.  Factions  within  a 
party  try  to  settle  differences  before  the  party  votes ; 
that  is,  they  try  to  "  wash  their  family  linen  in  pri- 
vate." There  is  so  much  work  in  conducting  an  elec- 
tion that  team  work  is  required.  It  is  easier  for  a 
party  than  for  factions  within  it  to  raise  election 
funds  and  to  conduct  a  campaign. 

But  bossism  thrives  on  party  solidarity.  Irre- 
sponsibility to  the  public  thrives  on  bossism.  To  get 


66     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

rid  of  bossism  it  is  proposed  to  permit  any  voter  to 
express  his  preference  for  a  candidate  at  primaries 
without  let  or  hindrance  by  party  or  faction.  (So 
far  as  the  voter  knows,  the  man  whom  he  nominates 
will  be  unwilling  to  run.) 

Many  believe  that  this  method  will  smash  the  ma- 
chine and  encourage  a  higher  type  of  man  to  seek  or 
to  accept  public  office.  The  successful  candidate 
will  be  independent  of  bosses  because  bosses  did  not 
name  him,  and  loyal  to  the  people  because  they  did 
name  him.  Oregon  has  gone  as  far  as  to  require  that 
all  candidates  for  the  legislature  must  pledge  them- 
selves to  give  their  votes  in  the  legislature  to  that 
candidate  for  United  States  senator  for  whom  the 
people  in  the  primaries  have  expressed  a  preference. 
In  1912  the  people  of  Oregon  (and  four  other  states 
already)  will  express  their  preference  for  president 
and  vice-president  of  the  United  States,  thus  bind- 
ing their  delegates  to  national  conventions. 

According  to  one  late  boss  ostensible  power  to 
nominate  is  by  no  means  real  power.  He  said :  "  This 
method  is  equivalent  merely  to  asking  the  bosses  to 
make  their  moves  one  point  earlier  in  the  game."  In 
addition  to  making  up  his  own  mind  the  boss,  under 
the  direct  nomination  system,  must  make  up  the  minds 
of  a  large  number  of  voters  before  the  primary ; 
he  must  do  his  educational  work  or  wire  pulling  or 
"  accelerating "  in  advance  of  the  primary  so  that 
the  independent  voter  will  want  the  particular  man 
that  he  as  a  boss  knows  will  make  good  as  a  running 
candidate. 


DIRECT  NOMINATIONS  CUT  67 

The  direct  nomination  has  already  brought  disap- 
pointment in  many  cities.  In  Boston  and  Des 
Moines,  for  example,  it  gave  a  plurality  of  the  total 
vote  to  men  against  whom  the  reform  was  particu- 
larly directed.  Just  as  the  independent  voter  hopes 
to  divide  the  boss's  power  by  naming  independent 
candidates,  so  the  boss  can  easily  succeed  in  dividing 
the  forces  of  reform  by  putting  an  extra  reform  can- 
didate or  two  in  the  field  to  lessen  the  leading  candi- 
date's support.  Thus  "  popular  vote  "  may  be  made 
a  scapegoat  and  party  bosses  be  relieved  of  odium 
while  retaining  power  to  name  candidates. 

Like  the  short  ballot,  the  direct  primary  may  be 
but  need  not  be  an  effective  aid.  Both  are  certain 
to  be  productive  of  disappointment. 

What  advantage  have  you  ever  taken  of  the 
"  direct  nomination  "  in  women's  clubs? 

How  has  the  privilege  of  direct  nomination  worked 
on  the  school  boards  that  you  happen  to  know? 

Are  you  sure  enough  that  we  do  not  need  political 
parties  to  justify  an  experiment  which  assumes 
that  parties  are  unmixed  evils? 

In  the  long  run  can  we  expect  better  results  and 
more  direct  accountability  from  enthusiasm  for 
individual  candidates  rather  than  for  parties? 

For  the  strongest  arguments  in  support  of  direct 
nominations,  address  The  Massachusetts  Direct  Legis- 
lation League,  and  The  Legislative  Reference  Li- 
brary, Madison,  Wis. 


68     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Will  the  Referendum  Help? 

Yes,  but  only  some. 

In  1910  twenty-three  state  platforms  declared  for 
the  referendum;  that  is,  submitting  important  laws 
proposed  by  legislature  to  the  public  for  veto  or  ap- 
proval before  they  become  laws. 

Curiously,  the  referendum  finds  its  staunchest  sup- 
port among  advocates  of  the  short  ballot,  although 
the  referendum  means  a  frightfully  long  ballot  when 
important  legislative  questions  are  added  to  impor- 
tant candidates. 

Twenty-one  questions  plus  thirty  candidates  were 
submitted  to  Denver  voters  in  1910  while  Oregon's 
referendum  in  that  year  concerned  thirty-two  pro- 
posed laws  plus  candidates  for  state,  city  and  county 
officers. 

That  the  wholesale  referendum  in  Oregon  has  been 
a  success  everybody  admits.  In  1910,  117,690  votes 
were  cast  for  candidates  for  state  offices,  and  an 
average  of  85,042  were  cast  on  initiative  and  refer- 
endum measures,  of  which  the  prohibition  law  re- 
ceived the  highest  vote  —  104,100  —  and  the  ques- 
tion of  county  division  the  lowest  vote  —  68,326. 
On  the  average,  since  1902,  initiative  and  referen- 
dum measures  in  Oregon  have  received  three-fourths 
as  many  votes  as  candidates  for  office. 

The  chief  results  of  Oregon's  1910  referendum 
were  summarized  as  follows  by  La  Follette's  Maga- 
zine. In  reading  them  consider  how  many  of  these 
questions  justified  wholesale  referendum  and  your 


REFERENDUM  SHORT  CUTS  69 

own    probable   interest   in    similar   issues    for   your 
state. 

What  the  People  Did: 

Passed  an  amendment  giving  each  county  the 
right  to  say  how  it  shall  be  taxed 

Gave  municipalities  "  home  rule  "  on  the  liquor 
question 

Enacted  a  good  employer's  liability  bill 

Ordered  a  new  insane  asylum  built 

Abolished  what  was  practically  a  private  fishing 
monopoly  on  a  public  stream, 

Made  good  roads  possible  by  amendment  freeing 
counties  from  constitutional  tax  limitation  in 
matter  and  giving  county  referendum  on 
bonds  for  this  purpose 

Extended  the  primary  law  to  include  choice  of 
delegates  to  presidential  nominations,  and 
choice  of  rank  and  file  of  each  party  for  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States 

Made  important  reforms  in  judiciary  procedure, 
by  allowing  a  three-fourths  jury  verdict  in 
civic  cases,  instructing  the  higher  courts  not 
to  reverse  just  judgments  of  lower  courts  on 
mere  technical  errors 

Ended  bitter  fight  of  long  standing  between 
three  normal  schools  by  taxing  themselves  for 
support  of  the  best  school  and  turning  down 
the  others 

What  the  People  Refused  to  Do: 

Establish  "  classified  property  "  system  of  taxa- 
tion 

Adopt  state  wide  prohibition  amendment  and  a 
search  and  seizure  bill  putting  it  into  effect 


70     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Establish  woman's  suffrage 

Select  a  "  commission  to  inquire  into  the  em- 
ployer's liability  question  and  report  to  the 
legislature  " 

Order  an  election  for  delegates  to  a  convention 
to  revise  the  constitution 

Establish  separate  legislative  districts  for  each 
member  of  the  general  assembly 

Increase  the  salary  of  a  judge 

Inaugurate  a  system  of  proportional  representa- 
tion 

Order  printed  a  bi-monthy  State  Official  Gazette, 
and  sent  free  to  the  voters,  containing  news 
of  the  state  government,  etc. 

Create  eight  new  counties 

Permit  state  to  engage  in  building  railroads 

The  limited  referendum  in  the  eastern  states  upon 
various  constitutional  provisions  has  not  succeeded  in 
interesting  a  large  fraction  of  voters,  although  for 
the  most  part  beneficial  results  are  reported. 

There  are  three  weaknesses  inherent  in  the  refer- 
endum and  the  initiative: 

1.  It  will  always  be  difficult  to  take  as  much  in- 
terest  in   proposed   laws    as    in    candidates    for    law 
making. 

2.  People  would  generally  let  a  bad  law  break  down 
through  the  weight  of  its  own  defects  rather  than  do 
all  over  again  the  work  for  which  they  elect  legisla- 
tors ;  most  of  us  do  not  want  to  face  a  number  of 
crises  each  year. 

3.  Popular  excitement  is  apt  not  to  express  either 
public  interest  or  public  conviction. 


SOME  REFERENDUM  TESTS  71 

There  is  so  much  machinery  about  election  which 
can  be  put  out  of  order  that  bosses  can  quite  con- 
ceivably, by  clever  manipulation,  get  through  the 
referendum  an  ostensible  moral  support  which  they 
never  could  get  for  bills  subject  to  critical  scrutiny 
in  the  legislature. 

Unquestionably,  however,  the  ranker  obvious  out- 
rages against  public  sentiment  will  be  more  difficult 
to  perpetrate  when  a  considerable  minority  has  the 
power  to  require  a  state  wide  ballot. 

But  people  cannot  make  use  of  the  referendum 
beyond  their  own  knowledge  of  what  is  needed  and 
what  is  right.  Thus  we  come  back  as  always  to 
between-election  seeing  and  thinking. 

Are  conditions  in  Oregon  sufficiently  like  those  in 
your  state  to  make  it  likely  that  Oregon's  suc- 
cess with  the  referendum  will  be  duplicated  in 
your  state? 

Is  there  danger  that  people  will  become  tired  of 
having  to  act  upon  laws  as  well  as  upon  men? 

If  we  are  to  have  both  the  referendum  and  the 
initiative,  what  is  the  use  of  having  a  legislature 
and  why  not  have  postal  card  votes  or  newspaper 
votes  or  count  the  noses  at  mass  meetings  and  on 
street  corners? 

For  the  facts  regarding  initiative  and  referendum, 
address  Bulletin  21,  Legislative  Reference  Depart- 
ment, Madison,  Wisconsin.  To  keep  in  touch  with 
these  topics,  address  Massachusetts  Direct  Legisla- 
tion League,  Boston,  for  arguments  and  for  its  two 
bulletins,  Initiative  and  Referendum,  an  Effective 


72     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Ally  of  Representative  Government  by  Louis  Jerome 
Johnson,  and  The  Initiative  and  Referendum  in 
State  Legislation  by  C.  H.  Talbot.  Ask  your  sena- 
tor or  congressman  to  send  you  Senator  Bourne's 
speech,  Senate  No.  524,  1910,  for  Oregon's  expe- 
rience and  Senate  documents  516  and  529  for  Sen- 
ator Owen's  pleas  for  a  national  advisory  initiative 
and  referendum. 

Referendum's  Official  Hand  Book:  Oregon 

To  protect  voters  against  one  sided  arguments  or 
questions  referred  to  them  (by  the  legislative  assem- 
bly, by  petition  of  the  people  or  by  initiative  petition  ) 
Oregon  prints  and  distributes  to  voters'  addresses 
one  hand  book  of  pros  and  cons. 

This  indexed  hand  book  in  1910  contained  208 
pages.  The  order  of  presentation  is  (1)  statement 
of  the  measure  submitted;  (2)  the  way  proposals 
appear  on  the  official  ballot;  (3)  argument  for;  (4) 
argument  against. 

The  first  measure  in  the  pamphlet  for  1910  was 
the  woman  suffrage  amendment  which  was  later  de- 
feated. For  sample  copy  send  to  Secretary  of  State, 
Salem,  Oregon. 

If  your  state  or  city  does  not  yet  issue  a  hand 
book  of  pros  and  cons,  why  should  not  the  woman's 
club  offer  to  print  a  volume  in  which  each  side  may 
put  forward  its  "  best  foot  " —  its  strongest  argu- 
ment? 


THE  INITIATIVE  SHORT  CUT         73 

Will  the  Initiative  Help? 

Yes,  but  again  only  some. 

Like  the  referendum,  the  direct  nomination  and 
the  recall  —  and  woman  suffrage  —  it  is  bound  to 
be  tried.  Not  because  it  is  a  panacea,  but  because 
there  is  no  conclusive  reason  in  logic  or  in  practice 
for  not  having  it.  It  will  be  disappointing,  con- 
fusing and  expensive.  But,  like  many  other  things 
which  we  want  badly  when  we  want  them,  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  initiative  in  an  emergency,  when  issues 
are  clearly  drawn  between  the  interest  of  the  few  and 
the  interest  of  the  many,  will  make  it  a  "  very  present 
help  in  time  of  trouble." 

Just  as  soon  as  bosses,  party  managers  and  lob- 
byists are  unable  "  to  deliver  the  goods,"  that  is, 
unable  to  keep  promises,  it  becomes  unprofitable  to 
employ  them.  What  is  the  use  of  spending  a  lot 
of  money  to  elect  men  pledged  to  stand  pat  on 
railroad  legislation  if  the  initiative  and  referendum 
may  force  remedial  legislation  in  spite  of  the  legis- 
lator's pledges  to  his  employers?  For  the  same 
reasons  that  corrupt  interests  will  hesitate  to  try 
to  jam  through  the  legislature  dishonest  and  anti- 
social measures  which  may  be  later  vetoed  by  popu- 
lar vote,  they  will  see  that  it  is  no  longer  necessary 
to  pay  anybody  to  protect  them  against  unjust  legis- 
lation introduced  solely  for  the  purpose  of  forcing 
them  to  pay  "  blood  money."  , 

If  too   many   bills   are  initiated  by   petition  the 


74     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

public  will  be  bored  and  will  not  act  favorably  upon 
them. 

The  chief  danger  from  the  initiative  and  referen- 
dum is  that  people  will  not  see  their  limitations. 
This  danger  is  greater  even  than  that  great  mis- 
takes will  be  made  and  rash  legislation  passed. 
People  have  a  right  to  make  mistakes  if  only  they 
will  learn  from  them.  But  as  the  initiative  and 
referendum  come,  it  will  be  increasingly  important 
for  the  civic  agencies  which  endeavor  to  inform  and 
direct  public  sentiment  to  reduce  to  a  minimum  the 
diversion  of  energy  from  the  real  work  of  govern- 
ment to  constant  voting  for  and  against  measures 
submitted  by  a  minority  of  interested  citizens. 

Citizens,  whether  voters  or  not,  should  remember 
that  any  citizen  can  now  initiate  a  law  if  he  or  she 
can  persuade  one  legislator  to  introduce  it.  To  this 
initiative  much  of  our  best  lawmaking  —  and  much 
of  the  worst  —  is  due. 

For  current  information  as  to  the  progress  of  the 
initiative,  address  Massachusetts  Direct  Legislation 
League,  Boston,  Mass. 

Will  the  Recall  Help? 

Yes,  a  great  deal  if  not  applied  to  judges,  no 
matter  how  many  mistakes  are  made  in  learning  how 
to  use  it  efficiently. 

Why  should  not  the  voters  who  elect  a  mayor 
unelect  him  if  he  violates  his  pledges  or  proves  him- 
self incompetent?  What  possible  excuse  is  there 
for  tying  our  hands  for  two  years  or  four  years 


THE  RECALL  SHORT  CUT  75 

simply  because  a  plurality  in  the  midst  of  election 
excitement  votes  for  what  it  thinks  is  the  best  of 
several  candidates  for  a  job? 

A  great  impetus  has  recently  been  given  to  the 
recall  by  the  Seattle  election  mentioned  on  page 
38  when  the  newly  enfranchised  women  recalled  a 
mayor  who  stood  for  "  an  open  town." 

In  Boston,  where  a  mayor  is  elected  every  four 
years,  the  new  charter  provides  that  automatically 
at  the  end  of  two  years  the  public  shall  be  asked 
whether  or  not  it  wishes  to  have  another  election  for 
mayor. 

A  second  kind  of  recall  was  illustrated  in  New  York 
City  when  Governor  Hughes  removed  two  borough 
presidents  for  incompetence  "  albeit  no  evidence  of 
personal  dishonesty  was  shown."  This  is  the  recall  by 
judicial  investigation  and  executive  removal.  It 
may  be  brought  about  by  less  than  %0%,  in  fact 
by  only  one  citizen  and  without  any  election  excite- 
ment or  confusion.  All  that  is  needed  to  be  proved 
is  that  an  official  has  been  incompetent  or  dishonest. 
This  proof  can  be  given  by  one  man,  by  a  small 
group  of  men  or  by  a  civic  organization. 

This  recall,  however,  necessary  as  it  should  be 
regarded  in  every  state,  can  never  take  the  place 
of  recall  by  ballot  because  it  depends  too  much  upon 
the  efficiency,  courage  and  integrity  of  the  gov- 
ernor. There  has  been  many  a  governor  of  New 
York  who  would  have  refused  to  remove  any  elective 
official  for  gross  incompetence  unless  —  or  even  if  — 
personal  dishonesty  was  proved. 


76     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

If  the  recall  by  ballot  is  frequently  tried,  party 
lines  will  be  drawn  as  in  the  election  and  conditions 
must  seem  hopeless  before  the  public  will  be  willing 
to  go  through  the  excitement  of  a  second  election. 

The  advocates  of  the  recall  must  be  prepared  for 
a  great  many  mistakes.  Washington,  Lincoln  and 
Cleveland  would  have  been  recalled  if  denied  time  to 
vindicate  their  policies  by  results.  It  is  more  than 
likely  that  Governor  Hughes  could  have  been  re- 
called several  times,  notably  after  his  veto  of  the 
bill  which  would  have  reduced  railroad  fares  to  two 
cents  a  mile.  Within  twelve  months  after  Mayor 
Gaynor  of  New  York  was  the  object  of  almost  uni- 
versal acclaim  throughout  the  country,  there  were 
at  least  two  times  in  1910  when  it  is  probable  he 
would  have  been  recalled  had  a  popular  vote  been 
taken.  I  refer  to  police  troubles  in  August  and 
September  and  to  subway  delays  in  October  and 
November.  Yet  the  threat  of  a  new  election  would 
have  contributed  no  light  on  these  situations,  for 
properly  settling  which  information  was  lacking. 

In  proportion  as  evidence  is  furnished  currently 
about  the  acts  of  officials  may  either  kind  of  recall 
be  exercised  without  serious  injury. 

The  recall  to  be  just  and  effective  must  take  it  for 
granted  that  the  public  is  not  going  to  recall  an 
officer  who  has  been  efficient.  This  means  that  the 
public  must  take  steps  to  know  whether  or  not,  and 
with  respect  to  what  particular  duties,  an  officer  has 
been  efficient  or  inefficient.  Because  the  public  for 
generations  to  come  will  not  have  the  time  or  the 


COMMISSION  GOVERNMENT  CUTS     77 

ability  to  inform  itself  with  respect  to  the  law  and  the 
facts  involved!  in  discontent  with  judicial  rulings, 
recall  of  judges  will  be  fraught  with  danger. 

The  recall  is  surely  coming.  For  its  first  ap- 
pearance see  the  Massachusetts  Constitution  of  1780. 
For  direct  testimony  write  to  the  officers  of  Los 
Angeles  and  Berkeley,  Calif.,  Des  Moines  and  Bur- 
lington, la.,  Haverhill  and  Gloucester,  Mass.,  Colo- 
rado Springs  and  Grand  Junction,  Colo.,  and 
Seattle  and  Tacoma,  Wash. 

For  samples  of  state  laws  write  to  the  secretaries 
of  state  of  South  Dakota,  Oregon,  Montana,  Okla- 
homa, Maine,  Missouri,  Arkansas  and  Arizona. 

Will  Government  by  Commission  Help? 

For  a  while,  yes.  When  we  substitute  a  com- 
mission of  five  or  seven  men  for  a  mayor  and  comp- 
troller plus  a  council  plus  a  board  of  aldermen,  we 
give  the  public  a  higher  order  of  tools  with  which 
to  work.  At  the  same  time  we  give  the  "  machine  " 
a  higher  order  of  tools  with  which  to  misgovern. 

To  paraphrase  and  contradict  a  recent  summary 
of  the  "  achievement  of  commission  government " : 

1.  It  will  not   abolish   party   politics  from  local 
affairs.     (It  reaUy  simplifies  the  task  of  party 
politics.) 

2.  It  will  not  eliminate  the  boss,  the  grafter  and 
the  political  machine.     (Write  to  Memphis  for 
illustration. ) 

3.  It  does  not  necessarily  view  a  municipality  as 
a  great  business  enterprise  and  provide  accord- 


78     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

ingly  for  its  effective  management.  (Even  in 
Des  Moines  commissioners  are  elected  without 
specification  of  duties  in  advance  and  so  far  as 
the  public  knows  the  engineer  will  be  made 
comptroller  and  the  financial  expert  put  in 
charge  of  public  works  because  the  commission 
itself  places  its  own  members.) 
4».  It  does  not  of  itself  recognize  the  failure  of 
representative  government  and  substitute  there- 
fore a  system  of  democracy. 

5.  It  does  not  of  itself  establish  direct  responsi- 
bility for  every  public  act.      (Direct  responsi- 
bility there  cannot  be  unless  the  public  knows 
about  the  acts.     Most  commission  cities  have  not 
yet  provided  means  of  informing  either  the  com- 
mission or  the  public  regarding  official  acts.) 

6.  It  need  not  be  swift,  efficient,  economic,  how- 
ever well  adapted  to  a  rational  community  in  the 
twentieth     century.      (The     misgovernment     in 
New  York,  which  Mayor  Gaynor  was  elected  to 
correct,  was  due  to  a  commission  government. 
The  delays  in  dealing  with  the  subway  question 
are  again  due  solely  to  New  York's  commission 
government.     When    reading    the    extravagant, 
almost  fulsome  eulogies  to  the  commission  form 
of  government  in  Galveston,  Des  Moines,  Mem- 
phis and  fourscore   other  cities   in   the   United 
States,  please  do  not  forget  that  for  ninety-nine 
out  of  one  hundred  conditions  in  New  York  City 
the    board    of   estimate    and    apportionment    is 
solely  responsible  and  is  nothing  more  nor  less 
than   commission  government.     To   abolish  the 
present  board  of  aldermen  would  add  nothing 
to  the  competence  and  little  to  the  freedom  of  the 
board  of  estimate  and  apportionment.) 

7.  It  need  not  abolish  a  raft  of  useless  offices,  sine- 


FIELD  TESTS  OF  COMMISSIONS       79 

cures,  jobs  and  political  rewards  while  substi- 
tuting for  them  organization  in  method  and 
work. 

There  will  soon  be  a  great  reaction  against  it 
because  its  advocates  have  talked  too  much  of  the 
tool  and  too  little  of  the  work  which  the  tool  should 
facilitate.  Nothing  can  save  an  uninformed  public 
from  being  exploited  by  its  officials  and  those  be- 
hind its  officials. 

For  the  strongest  statement  in  support  of  the 
commission  form  of  government  see  The  Dethrone- 
ment of  the  City  Boss  by  John  H.  Hamilton.  For 
arguments  pro  and  con  and  for  clippings,  address 
the  H.  W.  Wilson  Company,  Minneapolis,  and  the 
Legislative  Reference  Library,  Madison,  Wis. 

In  August,  1911,  former  Comptroller  Herman  A. 
Metz  of  New  York  City,  asked  the  Bureau  of  Mu- 
nicipal Research  to  make,  at  his  expense,  a  field  study 
of  several  commission  cities.  Henry  Bruere,  director, 
and  William  Shepherdson,  C.  E.,  C.  P.  A.,  are  mak- 
ing the  study,  which  promises  to  be  of  service  to  the 
whole  country,  because  devoted  to  methods  and  re- 
sults as  well  as  to  the  aims  of  this  recently  emphasized 
form  of  government. 

Are  There  Too  Many  Elections? 
At  the  very  time  when  we  are  hearing  most  about 
referendum,   initiative   and   recall,   with  their  possi- 
bilities of  new  elections  every  few  months,  we  also 
hear  much  about  the  advantage  of  fewer  elections. 


80     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

National  elections  should  be  separate  from  state 
elections  because  no  matter  how  many  officers  are 
on  the  ticket  attention  focuses  on  the  presidential 
candidates  and  national  issues.  With  issues,  as 
with  men,  they  seem  bigger  as  their  area  grows.  So 
state  elections  should  be  separate  from  local  elec- 
tions in  order  to  keep  local  needs  clearly  distin- 
guished. 

Unquestionably  it  has  helped  some  to  have  biennial 
instead  of  annual  elections,  then  elections  every  four 
years.  But  reducing  the  number  of  elections  may 
easily  mean  increasing  the  helplessness  of  the  public. 
A  comparison  of  mayors  in  cities  that  have  substi- 
tuted quadriennial  for  annual  elections  does  not  in- 
dicate that  a  higher  type  of  man  seeks  or  accepts 
the  office  than  formerly.  An  examination  of  re- 
sults, whether  in  cities,  church  clubs  or  business  or- 
ganizations, fails  to  show  that  the  mere  increase  in 
the  length  of  term  has  any  certain  effect  upon  the 
character  of  work  done. 

Longer  terms  do,  however,  tend  to  give  permanent 
employes  under  civil  service  a  better  chance  to  be- 
come efficient. 

Can  you  remember  when  you  first  heard  serious 
talk  of  a  life  presidency? 

Do  you  sympathize  with  the  demand  for  a  term 
of  six  or  eight  years  ? 

In  your  city  is  it  the  politicians  or  reformers  who 
say  we  cannot  expect  men  to  accept  public  posts 
when  they  must  give  up  their  business  or  their 
life  work  for  a  short  tenure  of  public  office  ? 


GETTING  BACK  TO  NEXT  STEPS      81 

Which  officials  whom  you  know  seem  to  be  keeping 
their  eyes  on  reelection  when  their  terms  are 
short? 

Have  your  bosses  been  less  or  more  arrogant  and 
less  or  more  successful  as  the  number  of  elec- 
tions has  decreased? 

Getting  Back  to  Definite  Steps  and  Needs 

While  all  these  short  cuts  are  being  tested,  a 
larger  and  larger  number  of  voters  will  come  to  see 
that  there  is  remarkably  little  difference  between  the 
days  before  and  the  days  after  the  various  changes 
have  been  effected.  People  will*  vote  wrong  on 
the  referendum.  They  will  make  the  initiative  and 
recall  public  nuisances.  The  short  ballot  and  com- 
mission government  will  prove  to  be  great  simplifiers 
for  the  politician  and  corruptionist  as  well  as  for 
the  good  citizen.  Each  short  cut,  even  woman  suf- 
frage itself,  will  bring  most  of  its  promises  un- 
fulfilled back  to  haunt  its  proposers. 

But  it  takes  less  time  than  formerly  to  see  the 
failure  or  limitation  of  experiments.  As  the  same 
definite  needs  figure  in  the  argument  for  each  short 
cut,  people  are  going  to  see  that  more  direct  means 
than  election  and  lawmaking  must  be  found  for 
meeting  these  needs. 

After  the  referendumites,  recallites,  short  ballot- 
ites,  suffrageites,  and  others,  have  all  cited  unclean 
streets,  the  social  evil,  or  public  extravagance  as 
reasons  for  trying  their  short  cuts,  the  public  will 
begin  to  ask  whether  we  shall  always  have  with  us 


82     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

the  social  evil,  public  waste,  unclean  streets,  etc. 
The  definite  evils  will  gradually  come  to  be  regarded 
as  more  important  than  the  short  cuts,  for  the  pub- 
lic will  not  go  on  being  deceived  contrary  to  evidence 
constantly  before  it.  The  stratagem  of  partisan- 
ship, and  likewise  public  impatience,  will  gradually 
emphasize  individual  steps  —  whatever  the  form  of 
government  or  length  of  ballot  —  necessary  to  correct 
evils. 

The  sooner  the  voter  begins  to  think  of  the  next 
steps,  entirely  apart  from  short  cuts,  the  sooner  will 
she  become  an  important  factor  in  getting  good 
government.  The  hardest  man  for  politicians  to 
handle  is  the  man  who  makes  up  his  own  mind  about 
definite  next  steps.  People  who  watch  the  high  and 
low  water  marks  do  not  need  expert  advice  about  the 
tides. 

When  men  and  women  stop  talking  about  the 
ballot,  legislation,  and  short  cuts  to  good  govern- 
ment, and  begin  to  talk  about  next  steps  that  can 
be  taken  to-morrow,  they  will  marvel  at  the  emphasis 
heretofore  given  to  voting.  They  will  see  that 
election  day  is  a  snare  and  a  delusion,  that  the  ballot 
may  be  the  badge  of  disfranchisement,  election  privi- 
leges but  a  dunce's  cap  to  flatter  the  simple-minded, 
and  uninformed  good  intention  capable  of  doing 
more  harm  than  stalking  corruption. 

The  thing  which  makes  officials  perform  right  acts 
is  what  the  public  knows,  and  not  the  ballot.  That 
is  the  real  reason  for  such  superiority  as  foreign 
governments  possess  over  ours.  If  the  money  now 


SUFFRAGE  SHORT  CUTS  83 

spent  on  primaries  and  elections  could  be  used  for 
four  years  in  focusing  the  attention  of  American 
cities  on  next  steps,  democracy  would  become  a  reality 
and  would  find  its  highest  expression  where  now  its 
greatest  failures  are  noted,  the  American  city. 

What  ten  next  steps  are  most  needed  by  your  com- 
munity ? 

Of  these,  how  many  require  legislation? 

Of  those  that  require  legislation,  how  many  are 
looked  at  in  the  same  way  by  the  whole  com- 
munity ? 

Of  those  next  steps  that  do  not  require  legislation, 
how  many  are  looked  at  in  the  same  way  by  the 
whole  community  ? 

Some  Things  the  Ballot  Cannot  Do 

The  ballot  has  serious  limitations  which  time  will 
aggravate,  not  diminish. 

The  ballot  cannot  work  365  days  in  the  year. 
Government  must. 

The  ballot  cannot  make  the  selection  of  political 
officers  the  chief  business  of  citizenship,  nor  can  it 
prevent  the  practical  disfranchisement  of  those 
voters,  no  matter  how  good  or  how  erudite,  who 
are  uninformed  as  to  official  acts  and  community 
needs. 

The  ballot  cannot  administer  justice,  detect  the 
padding  in  payrolls,  disclose  waste  of  millions  in 
supplies,  give  every  child  a  seat  in  school,  remove 
dark  rooms  and  school  sinks,  or  study  conditions  that 
foster  misgovernment. 


84     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  ballot  cannot  inspect  goods  and  asphalt, 
audit  payrolls,  discharge  inefficient  employes,  sub- 
stitute modern  for  obsolete  methods,  watch  the  acts 
or  change  the  habits  of  1,000  or  85,000  city  em- 
ployes. Nor  can  it  tell  the  difference  between  two 
platforms  and  two  candidates  that  promise  the  same 
benefits.  Because  it  deals  with  men  not  acts,  it 
cannot  furnish  a  basis  upon  which  a  whole  com- 
munity can  speak  with  one  voice. 

The  ballot  cannot  make  guesses  equal  facts,  or 
desire  to  do  equal  ability  to  do.  It  can  never  re- 
flect a  goodness  that  the  voter  does  not  possess, 
express  an  opinion  not  held  by  the  voter,  protest 
against  evils  of  which  the  voter  is  ignorant  or  de- 
mand benefits  not  pictured  by  the  voter. 

The  ballot  cannot  learn  or  tell  whether  it  has 
missed  its  mark. 


VI 

A  METHOD  OF  STUDY  WITHIN  THE 
REACH  OF  ALL 


The  Power  of  Knowing 

MISGOVERNMENT  and  inefficiency  have  been  due  not 
to  man's  lower  nature  but  to  the  public's  ignorance 
of  what  was  happening  when  it  happened.  Official 
love  of  applause  is  stronger  than  greed  or  fear  of 
being  turned  out.  There  is  no  hope  for  represen- 
tative government  unless  citizens,  male  and  female, 
stop  "big  Injun"  talk  of  punishing  offenders  and 
displace  the  tomahawk  with  a  searchlight. 

Public  officers  are  not  always  thinking  of  the  next 
election  any  more  than  are  Methodist  ministers. 
Officials  have  acted  nearer  to  their  moral  light  than 
has  the  public.  Almost  always  a  public  officer  is 
clever  enough  to  see  some  better  way  out  of  a  dif- 
ficulty than  the  one  which  the  public  agrees  upon  as 
inefficient. 

Those  of  our  representatives  who  have  committed 
illegal  and  anti-social  acts  are  not  so  much  afraid 
of  jail  as  of  being  "found  out"  by  those  whom 
they  meet  every  day. 

Democracy's  power  depends  upon  and  is  limited 
to  democracy's  knowing.  Therefore  the  importance 
of  publishing  campaign  contributions  and  before  not 
after  election. 

A  southern  woman  once  wrote  me  that  she  did  not 
see  how  knowing  would  help  her  church  society  oust 
the  superintendent  of  an  almshouse,  who  was  said 
to  be  a  debased  and  debasing  creature.  I  wrote  her 

87 


88     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

a  rather  general  letter,  enclosing  some  municipal  re- 
search pamphlets  about  "  open  public  eye "  vs. 
"  aroused  public  conscience,"  and  received  a  reply 
that  she  still  couldn't  see  how  that  affected  the 
almshouse  situation  because  everybody  knew  this  su- 
perintendent was  a  terrible  man  who  swore  and  drank, 
etc.,  etc. 

It  was  obvious  that  unless  the  searchlight  remedy 
could  help  a  country  almshouse  we  could  not  be  sure 
that  it  would  help  great  cities.  I  then  suggested 
that  swearing  and  drinking  were  not  regarded  as  dis- 
qualifications for  office  even  south  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line,  and  asked  her: 

What  ought  the  farm  to  produce? 

How  much  did  he  report  ? 

What  ought  the  food  to  cost? 

What  did  he  make  it  cost? 

What  care  should  be  given  the  sick? 

Did  he  give  that  care  ? 

The  superintendent  was  permitted  to  resign. 

When  Does  Knowing  Become  Evidence? 

The  knowing  that  I  mean  is  not  mere  feeling 
sure.  Knowing  becomes  evidence  when  it  is  able 
to  prove  ihe  truth  to  those  who  do  not  know  and 
who  do  not  want  to  know. 

A  man's  signature  is  evidence.  So  is  a  thumb 
print,  or  marked  money. 

An  empty  coal  bin  is  evidence  of  lack  of  coal; 
it  is  not  evidence  that  coal  has  been  stolen.  A 
written  record  over  some  responsible  man's  signature 


EVIDENCE  DEFINED  89 

showing  how  much  coal  was  paid  for,  could  not  be 
used  as  evidence  to  prove  waste  until  a  conclusive 
record  was  found  showing: 

1.  The  amount  of  coal  remaining. 

2.  Difference     between     amount     paid     for     and 
amount  remaining. 

3.  Minimum  amount  that  need  have  been  burned 
to  heat  properly  rooms  of  a  given  size. 

Evidence  is  called  for  more  to-day  than  it  was 
ten  years  ago  or  even  five  years  ago.  With  the 
possible  exception  of  the  city  chamberlain  of  New 
York,  who  recently  got  lost  for  seven  weeks  while 
a  legislative  investigating  committee  wanted  him 
as  a  witness  on  legislative  bribery,  it  would  be  al- 
most impossible  to  find  in  the  United  States  the 
jocose  assumption  which  characterized  the  public 
official  of  1871,  that  of  course  ihe  public  would  not 
look  for  evidence.  New  York's  mayor  at  that  time 
replied  to  charges  against  him  and  his  associates 
in  office  by  reference  to  frauds  in  the  federal  gov- 
ernment, but  oftener  by  facetious  jests  such  as, 
"These  warm  yet  occasionally  breezy  days,  with 
charmingly  cool  mornings  and  evenings,  are  an  in- 
dication that  we  are  likely  to  have  what  befell 
Adam,  an  early  fall."  Thanks  to  evidence  his  boss, 
Mr.  Tweed,  got  a  tardy  but  effective  fall.  Thanks 
to  evidence  Mr.  Meyers'  History  of  Tammany  Hatt 
is  more  thrilling  than  fiction. 

Voters  have  been  misled  so  often  by  claims  of 
rival  candidates,  and  have  found  later  that  there 
was  evidence  which  might  have  been  obtained  to 


90     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

prevent  a  miscarriage  of  justice  or  misrepresentation, 
that  more  and  more  of  them  are  asking  what  is  the 
evidence,  what  is  the  record?  This  was  particularly 
true  in  the  elections  of  1910.  Never  before  did 
there  seem  so  big  a  gap  between  calling  names  and 
evidence,  and  between  demand  for  confidence  in  a 
party  and  proof  that  a  party  had  earned  the  con- 
fidence. 

Testing  Evidence :  "  Desire  to  Know  " 

In  securing  evidence  there  are  eight  steps, — 
eight  simple  ingredients, —  which  will  be  briefly 
treated  here.  For  detailed  description  see  Efficient 
Democracy. 

These  eight  ingredients  are:  1.  Desire  to  know. 
8.  Unit  of  inquiry.  3.  Counting.  4.  Comparing. 
5.  Subtraction.  6.  Percentages.  7.  Summary.  8. 
Classification. 

In  the  summer  of  1910  the  acting  mayor  of  New 
York  stated  that  open  gambling  and  flagrant  vice 
existed;  the  mayor  said  there  was  no  foundation  in 
fact  for  this  statement.  I  asked  a  business  man 
what  he  thought  of  the  situation.  He  replied, 
"  How  can  a  man  believe  the  acting  mayor  without 
disbelieving  the  mayor?  "  The  alternative  of  dis- 
believing either  was  unwelcome  to  this  business  man 
who  said  he  would  waive  judgment  until  he  could  get 
the  evidence.  This  evidence  came  later  in  well  sup- 
ported official  statements,  press  announcements,  a 
number  of  indictments,  the  resignation  of  the  police 


TESTS  OF  EVIDENCE  91 

commissioner,   and  the   reorganization   from  top  to 
bottom  of  the  police  department. 

Have  you  ever  believed  a  charge  that  you  after- 
wards found  to  be  untrue? 

Have  you  ever  been  misled  by  statements  in  a  news- 
paper ? 

Can  you  recall  any  campaign  lies? 

Have  you  ever  known  a  disagreement  in  a  woman's 
club  or  church  to  be  settled  after  evidence  had 
been  substituted  for  rumor? 

Are  you  conscious  of  an  unwillingness  to  believe 
damaging  statements  about  an  official,  or  a  min- 
ister or  another  woman,  until  you  have  seen 
conclusive  evidence? 

Are  you  conscious  of  a  temptation  to  shun  evidence 
and  to  take  sides  for  or  against  parties  and  indi- 
viduals without  reference  to  the  facts  ? 

Do  you  see  that  people  wishing  your  support  will 
vary  their  conduct  according  to  your  use  of 
evidence  in  hand  and  your  method  of  trying  to 
get  evidence? 

Testing  Evidence:  "Unit  of  Inquiry"  and 
"Count" 

A  great  deal  of  time  is  sure  to  be  lost  in  discus- 
sion if  people  are  not  talking  of  the  same  unit  of 
inquiry.  Acquire  the  serviceable  habit  of  begin- 
ning the  consideration  of  each  public  matter  with 
two  questions:  Of  what  are  we  talking?  Of  how 
many  units  of  that  thing  are  tew  talking? 

Dr.  F.  A.  Cleveland,  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  and 


92     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

chairman  of  President  Taft's  "  Efficiency  Commis- 
sion," is  very  effective  when  under  fire  from  people 
who  are  careless  about  their  unit  of  inquiry  and  their 
counting.  At  a  certain  committee  meeting  he  and 
the  method  of  municipal  accounting  outlined  by 
him  for  New  York  City  were  bitterly  attacked. 
When  an  eloquent  and  persuasive  gentleman  fin- 
ished a  sweeping,  general  indictment  of  Dr.  Cleve- 
land and  his  accounting  proposals,  the  latter  said: 
"  I  should  be  the  last  to  deny  these  sweeping  charges. 
It  is  more  than  likely  that  they  are  all  true.  But 
will  the  gentleman  please  state  to  what  particular 
defects  he  is  referring?  " 

In  October,  1910,  social  workers  desiring  to  pro- 
test against  the  curtailment  of  a  school  board 
budget  heard  a  convincing  speech  about  the  harm 
done  by  large  classes.  The  group  of  sentiment 
shapers  were  aroused  to  indignation  by  the  mere 
thought  of  teachers  having  sixty  or  even  seventy 
children  in  one  class.  Of  course,  the  school  board 
should  have  every  dollar  of  the  seven  million  dollar 
increase  requested  in  its  estimate!  When  asked  how 
much  of  the  seven  million  dollar  increase  requested 
would  be  used  for  reducing  the  size  of  classes,  the 
official  representative  of  the  board  of  education  re- 
plied, "  Not  one  cent."  It  was  worth  while,  you  see, 
sticking  to  the  unit  of  inquiry. 

By  confusing  the  unit  of  inquiry,  enemies  of  pro- 
hibition have  recently  shown  that  prohibitory  laws 
"  really  tend  to  increase  the  consumption  of  alco- 
holic beverages,  especially  the  stronger  spirits."  In 


TESTS  OF  EVIDENCE  93 

support  of  this  claim  is  the  evidence  that  more  intoxi- 
cating liquor  by  twenty-three  million  gallons  was 
consumed  in  the  United  States  during  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30th,  1910,  than  during  the  preceding 
twelve  months. 

When,  however,  the  unit  of  inquiry  is  narrowed 
down  to  the  increase  or  decrease  in  each  state,  it 
appears  that  the  prohibition  states,  Alabama, 
Georgia,  Kansas,  Oklahoma,  North  Carolina  and 
Tennessee  show  a  decrease  of  739,000  gallons  of  dis- 
tilled liquors  consumed,  or  over  50%  decrease; 
while  in  other  prohibition  states  only  the  Maine,  Ver- 
mont and  New  Hampshire  districts  show  any  in- 
crease and  that  but  597  gallons.  In  contrast  with 
these  decreases  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Illinois 
show  an  increase  of  nearly  4,000,000  gallons. 

Stick  to  the  unit  of  inquiry  and  compel  a  count. 

Testing  Evidence :  "  Comparison  " 

The  "  deadly  parallel "  is  an  effective  method  of 
making  public  men  see  themselves  as  "ithers  see 
them." 

To  the  citizen  it  is  useful  as  a  means  of  showing 
whether  facts  justify  impression. 

Women  use  double  columns  in  laundry  slips  and 
whist  scores.  Men  use  them  in  baseball  and  football 
scores.  Of  increasing  prominence  is  the  parallel 
column  in  reports  of  charitable  and  public  institu- 
tions which  wish  to  advertise  this  year's  growth  over 
last  year's. 

When  a  president  of  the  United  States  calls  some 


94     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 


man  or  woman  a  liar  the  new  member  of  the  Ananias 
Club  begs  permission  of  the  newspaper  to  set  side 
by  side  the  president's  statement  and  some  "  Maria 
letter  "  or  previous  official  utterance. 

When  Mayor  Gaynor  of  New  York  City  rebuked 
the  newspapers  for  their  scandalmongering  and  for 
traducing  their  city's  fair  name,  they  found  it 
serviceable  to  print  in  three  parallel  columns  three 
statements  by  Mr.  Gaynor : 


Mayor  Gaynor,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1910. 


' '  Let  me  hope 
that  this  city,  as 
orderly  a  city  as 
there  is  in  the  world, 
will  never  be  held 
up  by  persons  or 
newspapers  as  a 
mere  refuge  or  home 
of  unfortunate  wom- 
en and  gamblers." 


Mayor    Gaynor,    De- 
cember 22,   1910. 


1 '  When  we  look 
about  and  see  the 
dishonesty  and  graft 
which  exists  now, 
we  cannot  wish  to 
add  thereto  by  put- 
ting the  operation  of 
our  railroads  in  offi- 
cial hands." 


Judge  Gaynor,  New 
Rochelle,  February 
1.  1910. 

' '  Do  you  think 
the  government  of 
the  city  of  New 
York  was  ever  so 
base,  vulgar  and  cor- 
rupt as  for  a  part 
of  the  time  under 
its  present  charter  1 
.  .  .  Those  put  in 
rulership  over  the 
city  .  .  .  and  those 
whose  mere  puppets 
they  were  in  office 
were  all  the  time  in 
it  up  to  their  very 
armpits." 


When  people  talk  of  advantages,  progress,  going 
backward,  etc.,  ask  always  for  parallel  columns.  Be 
satisfied  with  no  reports  of  work  done  which  lack  the 
"  deadly  parallel."  When  describing  what  votes 
for  women  will  do  for  government,  stop  to  compare 
what  votes  for  women  in  private  hospitals,  charities 
and  the  home  have  done. 

By  counting  treatments  given  without  compar- 
ing them  with  results  of  treatment  it  has  been  pos- 
sible to  treat  patients  too  hurriedly  and  too  perfunc- 
torily; to  advise  them  to  do  the  impossible;  to  send 


MAPPING  EVIDENCE  95 

them  back  to  conditions  certain  to  break  down  their 
health;  to  fail  to  instruct  them  in  self  care;  to 
treat  them  over  and  over  again  for  the  same  undis- 
covered social  causes.  For  a  study  in  comparison 
write  to  the  Boston  Dispensary  for  the  first  report 
of  its  Social  Service  Department. 

Making  Pin  Maps 

There  is  a  tradition  that  women  and  pins  are  con- 
genial. I  hope  it  is  true,  because  one  of  the  best 
next  steps  for  women,  whether  they  vote  or  not,  is  to 
make  "  pin  maps  "  to  describe  graphically  the  social 
work  in  which  they  are  most  interested. 

What  is  a  pin  map?  At  New  York  City's  budget 
exhibit  in  1910  was  a  large  map  with  a  lot  of  red 
and  blue  and  white  pins  on  it.  Red  pins  marked  the 
house  for  every  baby  death  from  diarrheal  diseases; 
blue  pins  marked  baby  deaths  from  diarrheal  dis- 
eases at  institutions  like  hospitals  or  infant  asylums ; 
white  pins  located  dispensaries  and  milk  stations.  A 
glance  at  this  map  showed  where  babies  were  dying, 
which  means  where  mothers  were  least  informed  and 
where  nurses  and  physicians  ought  to  be  busy  with 
their  educational  work. 

Try  making  pin  maps  to  show  where  the  truant 
officer  visits ;  where  the  hospital  patients  come  from ; 
where  the  hospital  welfare  nurse  visits ;  where  the  vis- 
iting teacher  goes;  where  scarlet  fever  or  typhoid 
runs  its  course ;  where  tuberculous  patients  live ;  where 
streets  are  cleaned  too  seldom ;  where  there  are  holes 
in  the  asphalt ;  where  moving  pictures  are. 


96     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Pin  maps  will  not  only  help  you  compare  what  you 
are  trying  to  do  with  what  you  get  done,  but  will 
make  it  easier  to  secure  funds  for  your  work  from 
philanthropists  and  taxpayers. 

Testing  Evidence :  "  Subtraction  "  and 
"  Percentages  " 

Serviceable  as  the  parallel  column  is  most  of  us 
are  too  indolent  to  subtract  column  one  from 
column  two  to  see  what  the  difference  is. 

The  only  common  language  with  which  to  describe 
difference  is  percentage  that  gives  us  always  the 
same  denominator, — 100.  It  also  trains  us  t» 
think  always  of  the  whole  of  our  problem, — 100%. 
It  is  just  as  practical  for  reckoning  growth  of  at- 
tendance at  school  as  for  studying  interest  on  money. 

When  public  officials  or  private  citizens  want  tax- 
payers to  vote  more  money,  the  plausible  reason  is 
given  (when  it  is  true  and  oftentimes  when  it  is 
not),  is  "  Our  city  is  growing." 

If  the  chief  reason  for  spending  more  money  on 
a  health  department  this  year  than  last  year  is  that 
the  city  is  growing,  surely  the  additional  amount  of 
money  ought  to  be  in  some  proportion  to  the  addi- 
tion to  the  size  of  the  city.  To  bring  out  the  rela- 
tive increase  in  population,  in  the  total  budget  and 
in  various  departmental  expenses,  the  Bureau  of 
Municipal  Research  published  in  1910  a  table  show- 
ing ten  years'  growth  as  follows : 

City's   population .  .  . 89%' 

Total  budget , 80% 


VALUE  OF  PERCENTAGES  97 


Property  valuation  ......... 

Health  department  budget  .............  160% 

Law  department  budget  ...............  111% 

Charities  department  budget  ...........  102% 

Finance  department  budget  ............  100% 

Education  department  budget.  .  ........    96% 

Park  department  (all)  budget  ..........   84% 

Brooklyn  and  Queens  budget  .........  109% 

The  Bronx  budget  .................   89% 

Manhattan  and  Richmond  budget  .....   71% 

Fire  department  budget  ...............   68% 

Correction  department  budget  ..........   67% 

Street  cleaning  department  budget  ......  ,  50% 

Tax  and  assessment  department  budget.  .    48% 
Police  department  budget 


What  more  helpful  course  could  be  given  to 
women  wishing  to  fit  themselves  for  efficient  study  of 
public  questions  than  a  course  in  rapid  computa- 
tion of  percentages  applied  to  current  public  ques- 
tions, such  as  each  candidate's  share  of  total  votes, 
each  taxpayer's  proportion  of  taxes  paid,  propor- 
tion of  not-promoted  children  in  overcrowded 
classes,  etc.?  As  soon  as  women  begin  to  think  of 
government  and  civic  affairs  in  terms  of  percentages, 
there  will  be  less  talk  of  throwing  percentage  out 
of  school  courses  in  arithmetic. 

It  is  surprising  how  few  men  just  out  of  college 
can  compute  percentage.  I  recently  had  at  work  on 
health  and  budget  figures  a  star  graduate  from  a 
woman's  college  and  a  highly  commended  student 
from  a  man's  college.  When  I  asked  them  to  com- 
pute certain  percentages  both  looked  as  amazed  as 


98     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

if  I  had  asked  them  to  jump  out  of  our  nine-story 
window. 

Testing  Evidence :  "  Summary  " 

"  The  story  in  a  nut  shell "  should  always  pre- 
cede the  details.  One  reason  why  reports  by  pub- 
lic officials  and  by  charitable  agencies  have  not  had 
greater  influence  is  that  the  writers  themselves  have 
failed  to  get  the  "  meat "  out  of  their  story. 

The  women's  clubs  of  your  city  can  be  of  great 
service  if  they  will  see  that  all  official  reports  give 
at  the  very  beginning  a  summary  of  their  year's 
work,  based  upon  and  supported  by  proper  count, 
comparison  and  percentages.  No  matter  what  the 
problem  is,  there  are  always  some  half-dozen  crucial 
tests  of  progress  that  can  be  briefly  stated  in  sum- 
mary form.  Efficient  private  organizations  have 
come  to  see  this,  notably  business  enterprises  in  re- 
porting to  their  stockholders. 

Instead  of  long  rambling  talks  with  one  detail 
after  another,  people  who  want  to  prove  things  about 
candidates  or  about  public  business  or  private  philan- 
thropy ought  first  to  get  all  their  facts ;  then  set  them 
up  clearly  so  that  any  one  who  reads  can  be  sure  what 
they  mean;  and  then  introduce  them  with  a  sum- 
mary as  if  to  say :  This  is  what  I  am  going  to  prove; 
these  are  the  facts  that  prove  it. 

Testing  Evidence :  "  Classification  " 

When  facts  regarding  different  problems  or  dif- 
ferent men  are  all  mixed  up  with  one  another,  the 


CLASSIFYING  feVJD,] pE  •  } : ( :  \  go/ 

best  of  summaries  will  tell  only  a  confusing  story 
no  matter  how  carefully  percentages  are  worked  out. 

Therefore,  every  person  wishing  to  ask  intelli- 
gent questions  and  to  reach  intelligent  conclusions 
should  acquire  the  habit  of  insisting  upon  classifi- 
cation of  facts. 

Cases  of  tuberculosis  ought  not  to  be  mixed  up 
with  deaths  from  tuberculosis,  for  it  is  important 
always  to  contrast  cases  and  deaths.  Infant  deaths 
ought  not  to  be  mixed  up  with  adult  deaths  because 
no  lesson  can  be  learned  from  death  statistics  which 
fail  to  indicate  the  problem  involved  in  the  deaths 
reported  and  the  next  steps  which  should  be  taken. 
When  deaths  from  diarrheal  diseases  among  infants 
of  one  year  of  age  are  reported  by  themselves,  the 
health  department  or  the  women's  clubs  or  any 
mother  can  get  an  idea  of  the  amount  of  work 
necessary  to  stop  young  infants  from  dying  becausft 
of  preventable  diseases. 

Do  not  let  people  mix  up  in  one  statement  a  man's 
domestic  virtues,  business  inefficiency,  good  looks  and 
church  affiliations.  Insist  upon  having  his  public 
acts  put  off  by  themselves. 

It  will  help  in  asking  questions  and  in  reading 
evidence  to  have  always  in  mind  the  eight  ingredients 
of  proof,  namely:  desire  to  know,  unit  of  inquiry, 
count,  comparison,  subtraction,  percentages,  sum- 
mary, classification. 


VS.  GETTING 


PORTRAIT  OF  PERSON 
WHO  HAS  FOLLOWED  COURSE  OF  CHARTER 


New  York  World,  Sept.  27,  1911 

(Front:    One  of  50  charter  bulletins  sent  to  legislators,  edi- 
tors, taxpayers  ) 

Bureau  of  Municipal  Research 

261   Broadway,  New  York 

Efficient   Citizenship,   504 


CHARTER  EVIDENCE  DEFEATED  CHARTER  DANGERS 


VII 
NEXT   STEPS   IN   EFFECTIVE   PUBLICITY 


Systematizing  Use  of  Newspaper  and  Magazine 

OF  all  our  inconsistencies  none  is  less  pardonable  than 
our  talk  against  newspapers,  "yellow  journalism," 
"  scandal-mongering  editors,"  etc. 

Who  of  us,  if  compelled  to  choose,  would  exchange 
the  information  and  training  which  we  receive  from 
newspaper  and  magazine  for  the  information  and 
training  received  at  college? 

Who  of  us,  if  compelled  to  choose,  could  not  afford 
to  give  up  the  benefits  received  from  Sunday  sermons 
rather  than  the  benefits  from  newspaper  and  maga- 
zine? 

Even  if  an  individual  were  sure  that  she  was  not 
profiting  when  reading  newspapers  or  magazines,  she 
could  not  afford  to  ignore  them  as  sources  of  power 
for  any  public  cause  which  she  wished  to  further. 
Equally  potential  for  evil  as  for  good  is  their  in- 
fluence in  her  community. 

News  is  a  great  educator.  No  good  cause  can  af- 
ford to  avoid  being  news.  If  your  newspapers  have 
special  reporters  for  describing  any  cause  which  is  of 
general  public  concern  you  cannot  make  a  better  in- 
vestment than  to  furnish  them  news  while  it  is  still 
news.  It  is  not  fair  to  newspapers  or  to  readers 
whom  you  wish  to  reach  through  newspapers  to  con- 
fine your  public  statements  to  appeals  for  funds. 

A  college  graduate  interested  in  women's  work  in 
New  York  City  has  recently  persuaded  a  number  of 

103 


104     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

men  and  women  to  join  in  writing  letters  to  news- 
papers about  school  questions.  For  example,  they 
say  to  Dr.  ABC,  "  There  is  danger  of  a  reduction  in 
the  number  of  teachers  of  physical  training.  Will 
you  write  to  the  morning  Times  protesting  against 
such  reduction  and  emphasize  particularly  the  im- 
portance of  physical  training  in  the  fight  against 
tuberculosis  ? "  There  is  a  certain  definite  thing 
which  Dr.  ABC  can  do  and  he  gladly  does  it. 

Nothing  can  stop  a  reiterated  idea  from  exerting 
influence.  Quack  medicine  vendors  appreciate  this. 
In  a  current  comedy  a  distinguished-looking  man  is 
greeted  by  men  and  women  in  all  walks  of  life  with 
the  question,  "  Where  have  I  met  you  before?  "  He 
promptly  takes  the  pose  which  billboards  and  gum 
drop  boxes  have  made  familiar  and  announces  proudly 
"  I  am  the  Gum  Drop  King!  " 

You  can  write  a  protest.  It  is  quite  as  important 
to  write  praise.  You  can  write  questions;  you  can 
state  the  purpose  of  an  organization ;  you  can  give 
the  results  of  experiments;  you  can  harness  a  news- 
paper to  your  educational  program.  Editors  will 
recognize  your  desire  for  anonymity  and  if  you  re- 
quest (but  sign  your  name  and  address)  will  call  you 
Pro  Bono  Publico  or  Amicus.  Many  times  they  will 
preserve  your  anonymity  by  failing  to  print  your 
letters ;  even  then  you  influence  the  editors. 

Letting  newspapers  know  how  you  feel  may  easily 
be  a  more  important  gift  to  your  community  than 
your  contributions  to  charity. 

Any  cause  which  is  too  refined  or  too  exclusive  to 


PACTS  ABOUT  CANDIDATES    105 

benefit  from  an  understanding  of  it  by  newspapers 
and  newspaper  readers  will,  as  a  rule,  not  deserve 
general  support. 

Volunteer  Voters'  Leagues 

Ballots  do  not  describe  candidates. 

There  will  never  be  a  time  when  candidates  for  of- 
fice may  be  chosen  exclusively  from  men  and  women 
well  known  and  favorably  known  to  all  voters. 

Unknown  men  must  be  nominated,  and  will  seek 
nomination  as  one  means  of  becoming  known. 

Known  and  unknown  candidates  are  equally  sub- 
ject to  misrepresentation. 

The  party  or  faction  that  backs  a  candidate  natu- 
rally minimizes  his  weak  points  and  exaggerates  his 
strong  points ;  his  opponents  naturally  minimize  his 
strong  points  and  exaggerate  his  weak  points.  Both 
sides  aim  to  confuse  issues  and  facts  about  candidates. 
Hence  the  independent  non-partisan  voters'  league, 
which  tells  who  and  what  candidates  are, —  a  con- 
tirwwg  memory  and  reporter  for  the  people. 

Wherever  public  education  through  voters'  leagues 
has  been  tried,  it  has  been  found  that  voters  will  read 
answers  to  important  questions: 

What  has  he  done? 

What  and  who  are  his  business  associates? 
What  are  his  political  affiliations? 
How  did  he  vote  as  alderman  or  assemblyman  ? 
What  did  he  get  done  as  mayor  or  police  com- 
missioner? 


106     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

• 

Where  such  record  publishing  has  been  tried  over 
a  period  of  years,  it  has  become  increasingly  difficult 
for  obviously  unfit  men  to  secure  nomination. 

The  only  safe  secret  is  the  one  which  nobody 
knows.  If  one  hundred  men  in  a  large  city  have 
damaging  information  regarding  a  candidate  and 
he  knows  it,  he  is  afraid  these  facts  will  jump  out 
at  him  at  every  meeting  he  addresses,  and  every  time 
he  asks  a  voter  for  his  vote. 

The  voters'  league  becomes  a  sort  of  umpire  and 
forces  the  whole  community  to  use  its  information. 
The  mere  prospect  of  unfavorable  notice  strengthens 
opposition  to  a  candidate  within  his  own  party  be- 
fore his  nomination.  Actual  unfavorable  notice 
weakens  his  mixing  power  as  candidate  and  strength- 
ens his  opponent. 

Much  of  this  work  breaks  down  because  voters' 
leagues  frequently  do  not  begin  to  work  until  just 
before  election  time.  They  fail  to  follow  the  records 
of  individual  candidates  after  election  time  by  watch- 
ing the  routine  work  of  council  meetings  and  legisla- 
tures and  the  administration  by  executive  officers. 
It  should  be  recognized  that  those  who  lead  must 
keep  currently  informed,  or  else  they  cannot,  how- 
ever wise,  tell  the  truth  about  the  record  of  candi- 
dates or  parties. 

Making  Party  Platforms 

Ballots  do  not  make  platforms. 
Party  platforms  have  too  often  been  made  with  a 
desire  to  throw  dust  in  voters'  eyes. 


FACTS  ABOUT  PLATFORMS          107 

An  illustration  of  platform  evasion  is  the  National 
Republican  platform  in  1908,  which  everybody 
thought  promised  revision  of  tariff  downward.  After 
election  time,  the  public  was  told  that  scientific  re- 
vision of  the  tariff  meant  leveling  up  as  well  as 
down, —  up  anyway,  down  if  there  were  facts  and 
time. 

As  the  way  to  begin  educating  a  child  is  to  start 
with  his  grandfather,  so  the  way  to  begin  to  in- 
fluence a  party  platform  is  to  get  sentiment  for  a 
project  "  in  the  air "  long  before  the  platform  is 
written.  In  doing  this  woman  can  help  individually 
and  collectively. 

For  the  platform  that  will  be  finally  presented  in 
October,  women  should  have  a  tentative  draft  of 
those  portions  in  which  they  are  interested  at  least 
two  months  earlier,  and  through  the  press  should 
force  public  discussion  of  these  provisions.  If 
women  are  to  remain  non-partisan,  or  if  they  are  to  be 
intelligently  partisan,  they  must  learn  to  describe 
platforms,  to  compare  them  with  each  other,  to  com- 
pare platform  statements  with  candidates'  pledges, 
with  obvious  public  needs,  and  with  obvious  next 
steps. 

Have  you  ever  read  a  party  platform  through? 

Do  you  ordinarily  read  more  than  one  party  plat- 
form? 

Have  you  compared  platform  utterances  with  later 
official  acts? 

Have  you  thought  that  knowing  a  platform  was 
essential  to  intelligent  voting? 


108     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  Governors'  Conference,  172  West  Eighty-first 
St.,  New  York  City,  issued  in  November,  1910,  its 
bulletin  No.  2.  entitled,  Party  Platforms  for  1910 
Condensed  Under  Subjects.  The  sub-title  reads : 

Vital  questions  before  the  states  of  the  Union 
to-day  as  expressed  in  the  platforms  of  the  two 
great  political  parties ,  classified  under  one  hun- 
dred headings.  This  presentation  of  principles, 
policies,  ideals,  trends  and  tendencies  gives  the 
principal  details  on  all  the  important  subjects 
relating  to  government  reform  in  the  different 
states. 

A  similar  title  and  sub-title  could  be  given  to  a 
statement  of  the  various  platforms  in  your  next  mu- 
nicipal and  state  elections. 

When  New  Laws  Are  Made 

Ballots  do  not  study  proposed  new  laws. 

Thirty  thousand  new  laws  were  proposed  in  the 
United  States  congress  in  the  first  three  weeks  of 
December,  1910.  Yet  it  is  one  of  the  arguments  for 
woman  suffrage  that  women  will  make  a  lot  of  new 
laws! 

Of  making  new  laws  there  has  been  no  end.  We 
are  law-ridden.  As  an  officer  of  an  insurance  com- 
pany recently  said  at  a  legislative  inquiry,  "  We  need 
a  law  to  stop  the  making  of  laws." 

If  women  want  to  participate  effectively  in  legis- 
lation, they  would  do  well  first  to  appoint  committees 
and  engage  experts  to  make  a  complete  list  of  the 
laws  that  ought  to  be  repealed. 


TO  AFFECT  LEGISLATION  109 

As  each  new  law  is  proposed  questions  like  these 
should  be  asked: 

Is  it  based  upon  obvious  need  or  upon  desire  to 
enforce  some  existing  law? 

Would  the  same  public  opinion  which  will  pass  it 
also  pass  a  more  comprehensive  measure  for 
allied  needs?  (For  example,  do  not  agitate  a 
whole  state  to  abolish  the  common  drinking  cup 
when  with  the  same  wave  of  public  interest  you 
can  secure  medical  examination  and  treatment 
of  school  children  plus  the  abolition  of  the  of- 
fensive and  dangerous  common  cup.) 

To  be  a  real  force  in  legislation  women  must  not 
only  see  the  need  for  laws  but  — 

Must  organize  a  lobby  to  educate  legislators  and 

voters 
Secure  the  insertion  of  news  items  and  editorials 

explaining  and  supporting  right  measures 
Secure  at  state  headquarters  a  reference  library 

where  copies  of  correct  existing  legislation  on 

each  subject  may  be  obtained 
Secure  in  every  city  either  reference  libraries  on 

reference  divisions  of  other  libraries  from  which 

those  interested  can  learn  all  about  each  law  pro- 
posed 
See  that  the  same  wave  which  gets  the  law  is  made 

to  follow  up  the  law  until  it  is  put  in  effective 

operation 
Keep  track  of  its   enforcement  by  asking  direct 

questions  of  newspapers  and  officers 

What  happens  when  laws  are  passed  without  fol- 
low-up work  on  their  enforcement  is  illustrated  by: 


110     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

New  York  City's  ordinance  reducing  the  number 
of  push  carts  and  increasing  the  fee  for  each  push 
cart.  As  the  number  of  push  cart  competitors  de- 
creased, of  course  the  value  of  each  license  increased 
so  that  it  shortly  became  worth  $25.00  a  year  to  own 
a  push  cart  license.  The  difference  between  $2.50, 
the  legal  fee,  and  $25.00,  the  market  value  of  the 
license,  did  not  go  to  the  city  but  to  the  city's  in- 
spectors, aldermen  and  political  go-betweens.  Thus 
legislation  intended  to  correct  one  evil  was  used  to 
manufacture  other  evils  much  worse  and  to  debauch 
public  officers  and  push  cart  peddlers.  In  like  man- 
ner practically  every  law  designed  to  correct  evils  be- 
comes an  active  manufacturer  of  evil  unless  those 
who  have  it  passed  see  that  it  is  enforced  in  good 
faith  and  not  used  as  a  means  of  blackmail. 

Women  will  find  as  soon  as  they  j  oin  the  "  fourth 
estate  "  and  go  to  legislative  halls  to  secure  the  pas- 
sage of  new  laws  that  they  are  being  accelerated. 
This  term  was  used  by  a  famous  New  York  lobbyist, 
Lemuel  E.  Quigg,  to  describe  bogus  mass  meetings  of 
good  citizens  and  the  long  petitions  and  innumerable 
letters  which  he  was  able  to  secure  in  support  of  cer- 
tain street  railway  interests.  He  did  not  like  to  call 
it  bribing  or  hoodwinking  or  misrepresenting  public 
opinion  but  pretended  that  the  opinion  existed,  and 
that  he  was  merely  making  easy  its  expression ;  that 
is,  accelerating  it. 

A  good  example  of  acceleration  was  the  general  de- 
mand of  New  York  City  in  1906  for  the  acquisition 
of  a  seaside  park.  Educators,  lawyers,  philan- 


BEING  "  ACCELERATED  "  111 

thropists,  social  workers  and  business  men  wrote  let- 
ters to  their  representatives  at  Albany  and  to  the 
newspapers  urging  the  passage  of  a  bill  that  would 
permit  New  York  City  to  buy  a  strip  of  land  on  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  either  at  Rockaway  Beach  or  at  Long 
Beach.  Later  it  was  discovered  that  while  we  were 
laboring  so  earnestly  with  obstreperous  legislators, 
those  particular  legislators  were  in  the  pay  of  the 
people  who  wished  to  sell  the  land  to  the  city  and 
wanted  the  bill  passed.  Thus  accelerating  public 
opinion  gave  the  legislators  an  appearance  of  yield- 
ing to  an  honest  interest  in  a  seaside  hospital  and 
playground. 

Those  desiring  to  learn  how  to  get  together  in  sup- 
port of  legislation,  how  to  draft  laws  and  to  study 
what  laws  now  exist,  should  get  in  touch  with  the 
Legislative  Reference  Library,  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
the  American  Association  for  Improving  Labor  Legis- 
lation, 1  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City,  and  the 
National  Child  Labor  Committee,  105  E.  Twenty- 
second  St.,  New  York  City. 

Woman  Lobbying:  Watching  Legislation 

Ballots  do  not  watch  legislation. 

In  1907-08  the  newspapers  and  magazines  of  the 
country  were  full  of  statements  by  and  about  The 
People's  Lobby.  This  was  an  organization  whose 
purpose  was  to  throw  a  searchlight  upon  bills  intro- 
duced into  congress. 

It  was  prophesied  that  the  people's  lobby  would 
lead  the  way  to  the  people's  intelligence  and  to  the 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

prevention  of  evil  practices  in  congress.  The  lobby 
was  discontinued  in  1908  not  because  the  idea  under- 
lying it  was  not  sound,  but  because,  (1)  too  much 
was  attempted  for  the  money  available,  and,  (2)  not 
enough  was  attempted  to  do  what  the  projectors  had 
in  mind. 

Every  town  board,  city  council,  county  board  of 
supervisors  and  legislature  should  be  under  the 
scrutiny  of  a  people's  lobby. 

No  private  body  will  ever  be  strong  enough  or  rich 
enough  to  spend  the  money  needed  to  get  the  truth 
out  of  confused  legislative  sessions  or  out  of  con- 
fused records.  Hence,  we  must  make  sure  that  public 
officials  are  themselves  by  official  reports,  carrying  a 
searchlight  with  respect  to  themselves  and  their  as- 
sociates in  public  office.  Secondly,  we  must  read  the 
story  of  results  of  legislation  not  merely  at  election 
time  or  when  legislative  bodies  are  in  session,  but 
throughout  the  year.  Only  by  continuous  light  can 
the  public  have  continuing  memory. 

The  best  representative  at  legislative  meetings  is 
the  newspaper.  Newspapers  live  by  selling  news. 
They  cater  to  the  wishes  of  their  readers  so  far  as 
they  can  ascertain  them.  Any  considerable  number 
of  citizens  who  are  dissatisfied  with  the  reports  given 
by  their  newspapers  of  legislative  meetings  can  easily 
obtain  the  right  kind  of  report  if  they  will  make  their 
wishes  known  to  editors. 


MAKING  FACTS  ACCESSIBLE         113 

Municipal  Reference  Libraries 

Ballots  do  not  systematize  knowledge. 

A  few  years  ago  the  Legislative  Reference  Library 
was  started  by  Charles  McCarthy,  in  Madison,  Wis- 
consin. It  is  connected  both  with  the  university  and 
the  legislature.  In  fact,  it  has  become  a  part  of 
practically  every  agency  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin. 
The  story  of  the  service  rendered  by  that  library  is  a 
veritable  romance  which  you  may  obtain  by  writing 
for  it. 

Legislators  in  a  comparatively  short  time  have  seen 
the  superiority  of  definite  information  over  guess 
work.  Before  drafting  bills  they  want  to  study 
other  similar  bills.  Before  voting  they  want  to  know 
the  experience  of  other  states  with  similar  measures. 

The  legislative  and  administrative  reference  idea 
was  quickly  applied  to  municipalities. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Buffalo  (1910)  meeting  of 
the  National  Municipal  League  (North  American 
Building,  Philadelphia)  will  contain  a  report  by  the 
committee  on  municipal  reference  libraries  which 
made  several  important  recommendations  applicable 
to  you: 

1.  That  every  community  have  a  center  responsible 
for   collecting  and   digesting  information   that 
bears  upon  its  municipal  service 

2.  That  this  center  be  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
city  officials  who  should  be  encouraged  to  use 
it  and  who  will  use  it  if  access  is  made  easy 

3.  That  except  possibly  in  a  few  large  cities  this 
library  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  public 


114     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

library  partly  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening 
the  reference  work  and  partly  to  keep  the  public 
library  in  touch  with  the  current  problems  of 
its  community 

Is  "  Budget "  a  Stranger  to  You? 

Do  you  know  what  budget  means? 

When  did  you  first  hear  the  term  ? 

Do  you  know  when  your  city's  budget  is  passed? 

Did  your  minister  ever  mention  the  city  budget  in 
a  sermon? 

Has  it  been  suggested  that  you  have  a  budget  ex- 
hibit? 

Are  you  more  interested  in  private  preventive  work 
than  in  the  preventive  work  that  your  city  ought 
to  do  through  its  budget? 

Would  you  go  to  a  taxpayers'  budget  hearing? 

Do  your  women's  clubs  ever  discuss  city  expenses? 

Are  these  discussions  in  time  to  influence  money 
voted  in  the  budget? 

The  Making  of  Public  Budgets 

Unused  as  many  citizens  are  to  think  about  pa- 
triotism, honesty  and  efficiency  in  terms  of  public 
budgets,  budgets  is  one  word  that  every  citizen  must 
learn  to  feel  for. 

The  only  time  in  the  year  when  any  governmental 
body  tries  to  picture  to  itself  100%  of  its  task,  100%' 
of  the  community's  need,  100%  of  the  government's 
opportunity,  is  when  it  is  making  up  its  mind  how 
much  it  will  spend  the  next  twelve  months,  that  is, 
what  its  annual  budget  will  be. 

Three  years  ago  Frederick  Trevor  Hill,  the  Lin- 


BUDGET  MAKING  115 

coin  historian,  wrote  me  that  it  was  useless  to  try  to 
interest  the  press  and  the  public  in  budget  making 
because  it  was  a  subject  for  experts. 

Yet  that  same  fall  75,000  persons  visited  the  first 
budget  exhibit  given  by  the  Bureau  of  Municipal 
Research  and  the  Allied  Real  Estate  Interests  in  co- 
operation with  a  number  of  other  civic  organizations 
and  city  departments.  The  next  year  200  ministers 
recognized  Budget  Sunday  in  New  York  City  early 
in  June,  while  two  budget  committees, —  one  of  social 
workers  and  one  of  ministers  —  lengthened  New  York 
City's  budget  season  from  a  few  days  to  six  months. 
Two  years  later  800,000  visits  were  paid  to  New 
York  City's  budget  exhibit  given  by  the  board  of 
estimate  and  apportionment  during  the  month  of 
October.  From  three  to  five  addresses  were  made  at 
this  exhibit  each  day  while,  almost  daily,  taxpayers' 
hearings  were  held  at  the  board  of  estimate  and  ap- 
portionment. 

For  the  story  of  budget-making  in  New  York  City 
and  for  practically  the  only  hand  books  on  budget- 
making  ever  published,  write  to  the  Bureau  of  Munici- 
pal Research,  261  Broadway. 

Can  Woman  Help  Make  Budgets'? 

Ballots  do  not  make  budgets. 

A  company  of  men  and  women  social  workers  met 
last  fall  to  consider  a  health  department  budget.  A 
subcommittee  reported  that  three  methods  of  pro- 
cedure were  open  to  social  workers:  (1)  they  might 
endorse  without  question  the  budget  estimates  sub- 


116     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

mitted  by  the  commissioner  of  health;  (2)  they  might 
be  influenced  against  some  of  these  requests  by  the 
Bureau  of  Municipal  Research;  (3)  they  might  get 
their  own  facts  and  make  up  their  own  minds.  Ob- 
viously time  was  too  short  for  them  to  get  their 
own  facts  and  to  make  up  their  own  minds.  There- 
fore, the  best  thing  seemed  to  be  to  endorse  the  esti- 
mates of  the  health  commissioner. 

When  I  reported  the  above  alternatives  to  Homer 
Folks,  he  replied :  "  They  have  omitted  one  possi- 
bility ;  they  can  keep  out." 

Within  a  month  it  was  demonstrated  that  the  de- 
partment of  health's  inspection  of  food  supplies  was 
ineffective  and  that  rotten  eggs  were  freely  sold 
for  the  making  of  angel  food  and  lady  fingers. 
Later  it  was  announced  that  tuberculous  meat  was  be- 
ing sold  in  Brooklyn's  slaughter-houses  under  the  eye 
if  not  by  the  permission  of  the  department  of  health. 
Other  conditions  have  convinced  the  department  it- 
self that  its  chief  need  is  for  greater  efficiency  in 
the  use  of  its  present  funds  rather  than  for  the  re- 
quested increase  of  50%  in  funds. 

At  a  taxpayers'  budget  hearing  a  woman  unquali- 
fiedly endorsed  a  certain  department's  estimate  not  for 
herself,  but  as  the  spokeswoman  for  100,000  women. 
One  question  brought  out  the  fact  that  she  did  not 
have  the  abc  of  information  about  that  department's 
needs  and  was  merely  reciting  a  speech  given  her  by 
the  commissioner. 

A  candidate  for  president  of  the  New  York  City 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  announced  in  Novem- 


TAXPAYERS'  HEARINGS  117 

ber,  1910,  as  apart  of  her  platform  that  women  should 
be  invited  by  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportion- 
ment to  participate  in  budget  making.  I  reminded 
her  by  letter  that  not  only  have  women  been  invited 
for  years  to  participate  but  have  actually  partici- 
pated every  year  since  1904.  Their  relative  inef- 
fectiveness has  been  due  to  lack  of  information,  not 
to  lack  of  opportunity.  It  is  fair  to  say  also  that 
their  ineffectiveness  has  been  equaled  if  not  exceeded 
by  the  ineffectiveness  of  men  voters  equally  lacking  in 
information. 

Budget  awakening  in  American  cities  is  one  of  the 
surest  evidences  that  people  are  getting  on  the  right 
track.  Mayor  Gaynor's  last  official  action  before 
starting  for  the  trip  to  Europe  which  an  assassin's 
bullet  interrupted,  was  to  give  an  interview  regard- 
ing the  budget  exhibit  in  which  he  asked  the  City 
Hall  reporters  to  help  make  "the  budget  kinder- 
garten "  a  success. 

Taxpayers'  Hearings 

Ballots  do  not  attend  hearings. 

Do  you  know  men  and  women  who  are  "  crazy  " 
for  the  referendum?  Did  you  ever  see  one  of  them 
at  a  taxpayers'  hearing? 

It  is  a  curious  thing  that  not  one  of  the  leading 
New  York  advocates  of  the  referendum  or  the  initia- 
tive has  ever  availed  himself  of  the  greatest  referen- 
dum and  the  greatest  initiative  offered,  namely,  the 
official  taxpayers'  budget  hearing  before  the  board  of 
estimate  and  apportionment. 


118     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

At  the  1910  budget  hearing  on  the  requests  of  the 
tenement  and  health  departments,  only  three  women 
were  present.  Yet  for  the  preceding  two  years  no- 
tice had  been  given  months  in  advance  that  women's 
questions  and  information  would  be  welcome  on  cer- 
tain specified  days.  In  fact,  a  good  part  of  the  time 
at  the  1910  hearing  on  the  board  of  education  budget 
was  taken  by  women  speakers. 

Taxpayers'  hearings  have  been  a  far  more  im- 
portant element  in  recent  progress  than  most  people 
seem  to  understand.  In  their  possibilities  they  are 
vastly  more  important  than  are  mass  meetings  of 
protest.  Yet  few  communities  have  acquired  the 
habit  of  holding  such  hearings  although  few  mayors 
and  few  councilmen  or  governors  will  refuse  to  hear 
what  citizens  wish  to  say  regarding  any  important 
public  matter.  To  ask  for  a  hearing  is  to  get  it. 

In  New  York  City  taxpayers'  hearings  have  taken 
on  new  significance  of  late  since  members  of  the 
board  of  estimate  and  apportionment  have  themselves 
been  better  informed  and  have  given  taxpayers  un- 
limited opportunity  to  present  or  to  discuss  facts. 
The  beginning  of  this  was  with  Mayor  McClellan  who 
granted  additional  hearings  on  the  budgets  for  1909 
and  1910  and  announced  months  in  advance  that  tax- 
payers might  have  all  the  time  they  wanted  so  long  as 
they  stuck  to  facts  and  did  not  try  to  indulge  in 
"  disquisitions  on  the  state  of  the  Union." 

A  representative  of  one  taxpayers'  organization 
telephoned  me  in  consternation  and  asked  if  it  was 
true  that  nobody  would  be  allowed  to  talk  on  the 


FACTS  AT  BUDGET  HEARINGS   119 

budget  who  did  not  address  himself  to  some  definite 
item  or  items.  When  I  said  I  certainly  hoped  so, 
he  then  asked,  "  But  what  in  the  world  can  we  do?  " 
What  they  did  do  was  to  request  certain  members 
either  to  absent  themselves  from  the  taxpayers'  hear- 
ings or  at  least  to  refrain  from  talking,  because  sad 
experience  had  proved  that  they  were  certain  to  talk 
volubly  and  violently  about  the  Ten  Commandments 
and  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  They  also  ap- 
pointed representatives  who  set  about  ascertaining 
certain  definite  facts  which  they  presented  with 
dignity. 

Mayor  McClellan  at  his  last  budget  hearing  (in 
the  midst  of  the  Gaynor-Bannard-Hearst  mayoralty 
campaign )  made  no  little  capital  by  putting  one  emi- 
nent taxpayer  after  another  on  record  with  regard 
to  alleged  waste  during  his  administration  ( due,  prin- 
cipally, to  obsolete  and  chaotic  business  methods). 
As  different  citizens  came  forward  to  urge  more 
money  for  the  fight  against  tuberculosis,  etc.,  he 
asked  each  "  Do  you  believe  that  millions  of  dollars 
could  be  saved  by  the  next  administration?"  So 
anxious  were  speakers  not  to  offend  the  mayor  and 
to  secure  acquiescence  in  their  definite  requests,  and 
so  unprepared  to  give  definite  facts  in  support  of 
their  convictions,  that  only  one  citizen  answered 
what  unquestionably  all  felt:  Millions  could  and 
should  .be  saved  by  the  next  administration. 
When  asked  to  show  when  and  how,  the  noted  banker- 
philanthropist,  Mr.  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  replied  by 
quoting  sworn  testimony  of  Mayor  McClellan  and 


120     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Comptroller  Metz,  which  you  will  find  in  Efficient 
Citizenship  No.  346,  published  by  the  New  York 
Bureau  of  Municipal  Research.  Millions  saved  in 
1910  and  1911  have  supported  Mr.  Schiff ! 

If  taxpayers'  hearings  in  your  city  are  either  un- 
heard of  or  are  a  farce,  the  chances  are  ten  to  one 
that  it  is  because  the  taxpayers  themselves  do  not 
come  forward  with  definite  statements  of  fact. 

One  taxpayer  armed  with  evidence  will  cause  a 
whole  city  administration  to  get  busy  obtaining  facts 
and  changing  such  facts  as  are  unfavorable.  It  is 
a  reflection  on  the  citizens'  irresponsible  attitude 
toward  public  affairs  when  taxpayers'  hearings  are 
regaled  by  such  dialogue  between  two  city  officials 
as  follows :  "  But  I  want  to  do  something  for  Brook- 
lyn." "  Then  why  in  hell  don't  you  resign ! " 

If  your  city  is  not  accustomed  to  public  hearings, 
I  suggest  that  you  begin  by  asking  the  mayor  or 
council  to  grant  three  hearings  on  the  next  annual 
"budget"  or  "appropriation  bill":  the  first  for 
officials  themselves  to  explain  the  needs  for  which 
they  are  asking  money;  the  second  for  taxpayers  to 
favor  or  oppose  estimates  given  by  the  officials;  and 
the  third  for  taxpayers  to  favor  or  oppose  the  tenta- 
tive budget  which  officials  have  decided  to  vote  unless 
taxpayers  change  their  minds. 

At  the  first  public  hairing  on  official  estimates  the 
various  officers  who  are  asking  for  money  ought  to 
explain  to  the  body  which  votes  the  money  why 
each  amount  is  requested,  what  additional  work  it  is 
proposed  to  do  for  increases  requested,  why  addi- 


SUPPORTING  BUDGET  ESTIMATES 

tional  workers  are  needed,  or  why  salary  increases  for 
the  existing  workers  are  proposed.  The  mayor  or 
chairman  of  the  finance  committee  of  councils  may 
not  at  first  be  interested  in  such  hearings  and  may  not 
have  the  desire  to  know  or  any  of  the  other  elements 
of  the  statistical  method. 

Whether  they  vote  or  not  women  can  individually 
or  through  committees  see  that  questions  are  asked 
of  the  health  officer  or  school  superintendent  which 
will  explain  clearly  how  much  better  work  could  be 
done  for  health  and  schools  if  the  requested  in- 
creases were  voted.  In  1910  the  president  of  New 
York  City's  board  of  education  stated  that  he  was 
very  glad  to  have  intelligent  and  searching  questions 
asked  because  it  gave  him  a  better  opportunity  to 
bring  out  school  needs. 

In  small  communities  and  wherever  possible,  tax- 
payers and  officers  should  be  heard  on  the  same  day ; 
that  is,  the  taxpayer  should  be  given  a  chance  to 
ask  questions  when  the  department  head  is  present 
to  answer  them,  and  the  department  head  m  turn 
should  be  given  a  chance  to  remove  any  misunder- 
standings by  replying  to  protests  or  questions  of 
taxpayers.  But  in  large  cities  it  will  be  for  some 
time  rather  difficult  to  persuade  a  fiscal  body  to  hear 
officers  and  taxpayers  on  the  same  day.  So  at  the  j 
second  hearing,  after  officers  have  explained  their 
requests,  taxpayers  should  be  given  a  chance  to 
favor  or  oppose  particular  requests  before  the  voting 
body  has  made  up  its  mind. 

The   third   hearing,    and   perhaps   the   most   im- 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

portant,  is  after  the  voting  body  has  made  up  its 
mind  but  while  there  is  still  time  to  change  its  deci- 
sion if  satisfactory  reasons  are  given  by  the  public. 
This  is  the  hearing  on  the  tentative  budget,  called 
tentative  because  it  is  supposedly  all  open  for  dis- 
cussion. 

At  the  first  public  hearing  the  burden  of  proof  is 
on  the  department  head.  At  the  second  the  burden 
of  proof  is  on  the  taxpayer.  At  the  third  the 
burden  of  proof  is  on  the  voting  body. 

Obviously  each  of  these  hearings  will  be  a  farce  — 

1.  Unless  the  estimates  are  so  clearly  stated  that 
the  taxpayer  who  tries  can  understand  the  pur- 
pose for  which  money  is  requested,  and  for  just 
which  purpose  more  or  less  is  requested  than  for 
the  preceding  year 

2.  Unless  similarly  the  tentative  budget  shows  the 
purpose  for  which  money  is  actually  about  to 
be   voted   unless   the   voting   body    changes    its 
mind 

3.  Unless  the  estimates  are  printed  long  enough 
before  the  public  hearings  for  taxpayers  to  in- 
form themselves 

4.  Unless  ample  time  is  given  at  hearings  to  bring 
out  the  facts 

5.  Unless  the  voting  body  listens  to  and  under- 
stands   department    heads    and    taxpayers    and 
weighs  their  arguments  when  preparing  the  ten- 
tative budget 

6.  Unless   the   tentative   budget    is    printed   long 
enough  before  the  hearing  on  it  (say,  five  days 
or  three  at  least)  to  permit  taxpayers  to  under- 
stand it;  wherever  it  is  more  or  less  than  last 
year's   budget    plus    special    appropriation    in- 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  BUDGETS        123 

creases  or  decreases  should  be  shown  by  item  in 
parallel  columns 

7.  Unless  the  after-budget  use  of  the  money  con- 
forms to  before-budget  reasons 

For  information  regarding  taxpayers'  hearings  on 
budgets,  address  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research, 
261  Broadway,  New  York  City,  which  has  a  fund 
given  by  ex-Comptroller  Herman  A.  Metz  to  help 
communities  wishing  to  improve  their  budget  mak- 
ing, public  hearings  and  reports. 

Taxpayers'  hearings  on  other  public  issues  should 
be  conducted  with  the  same  demands  for  evidence  as 
hearings  on  the  budget.  There  should  be  advance 
notice,  definite  information,  time  to  study  pros  and 
cons. 

Newspapers  will  report  all  taxpayers'  hearings  if 
taxpayers  present  facts.  Yet  one  interested  citi- 
zen can  greatly  improve  the  nature  of  these  reports 
by  informing  editors  and  reporters  in  advance  as  to 
the  more  important  issues  at  stake  and  by  submitting 
in  typewritten  form  the  essential  facts  on  questions 
which  will  bring  out  these  facts. 

Are  there  public  hearings   of  taxpayers  in  your 

city  ? 

On  what  issues? 

Do  your  newspapers  report  these  hearings? 
Did  you  ever  attend  one? 
Are  taxpayers  courteously  treated? 
Do  officials  ask  questions  necessary  to  bring  out  the 

case,  or  do  they  just  look  bored  and  let  people 

talk? 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Do  civic  agencies  prepare  in  advance  for  these 
hearings  ? 

Do  your  "  best  citizens  "  ever  attend? 

Do  the  referendumites  ever  attend? 

Could  women  attend  and  speak  ? 

Do  they? 

Does  your  state  legislature  give  public  hearings  on 
its  appropriation  bill? 

Can  you  ever  hope  for  the  democratic  administra- 
tion of  state  funds  if  the  public  does  not  de- 
mand and  utilize  taxpayers'  hearings  on  requests 
and  proposed  allowances  for  state  departments? 

Oppose  Subterranean  Hearings 

The  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  in  Oregon  is 
trying  to  interest  women  in  taxpayers'  hearings 
and  in  a  recent  circular  asks  the  chairman  of  each 
local  school  committee: 

"  Do  your  members  as  a  rule  attend  the  taxpayers' 
meeting  in  December? 

"  How  many  of  your  committee  attended  the  an- 
nual school  meeting  last  June? 

"  Do  you  as  chairman  remind  them  of  the  impor- 
tance of  these  meetings  and  urge  upon  them  the 
necessity  of  attending?  " 

At  present  women's  clubs,  like  men's  clubs  and 
like  individual  men  and  women,  too  often  want  to 
get  subterranean  access  to  mayor  or  comptroller 
or  governor  or  dominant  alderman.  Hence,  instead 
of  working  through  taxpayers'  hearings  and  through 
the  press,  they  invite  officials  to  dinner  or  to  tea, 
call  at  their  offices  and  bring  pressure  through  per- 


DEFECTS  OF  STATE  BUDGETS   125 

sonal  friends  and  political  allies.  They  little  think 
in  adopting  this  method  how  they  are  perpetuating 
it,  and  how  much  better  equipped  than  they  are  the 
evil  forces  in  their  community  to  make  use  of  this 
method.  The  cure  for  illegitimate  deals  is  open 
public  discussion  where  everybody  knows  reasons  for 
and  against  each  project. 

Budget-Making  by  State  Legislatures 

Ballots  do  not  watch  state  budgets. 

The  pathetic  efforts  of  the  general  public  hereto- 
fore to  participate  in  budget  making  is  a  phrase 
that  Governor  Hughes  might  just  as  well  have  ap- 
plied to  any  state  or  to  any  other  government  unit 
as  to  the  budget  making  of  New  York's  legislature. 

What  did  he  mean?     Our  (your)  legislature 

1.  Cannot  ascertain  the  proper  total  to  be  allowed 

2.  Cannot  apportion  that  total  justly 

3.  Obtains    no    adequate    advance    knowledge    of 
departmental  budgets  and  proposals 

4.  Receives    no     reports   based   upon   preliminary 
investigation 

5.  Is  unable  to  make  comparative  examination 

6.  Submits     its     recommendations     ($38,500,00 
in   1909)   to  the   governor,  who  must  approve 
or  veto  without  knowledge  necessary  to  mte. 
gent  or  just  action 

In  terms  of  experience  these  conditions  mean: 
1.  State    budget-making    is    now    largely     gam- 
bling,  because    all   parties   must   work   without 
light 


126     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

2.  Legislatures    as    bodies    cannot    and    do    not 
participate 

3.  The  public  and  the  press  cannot  and  do  not 
intelligently  participate 

4.  Sub-committees    must   act   arbitrarily    with    re- 
spect to  numerous  items  inTolving  millions 

5.  "  Log  rolling  "  is  encouraged 

6.  Extravagance  is  encouraged 

7.  Control  of  the  purse-strings  by  the  public   is 
impossible 

8.  Comprehensive    planning    for    state     develop- 
ment is  impossible 

9.  Desirable   and   necessary   activities    are    placed 
at  a  disadvantage  in  competition  for  funols  with 
undesirable    and    unnecessary    activities    backed 
by  greater  or  more  skillful  influence 

10.  A   governor   wishing   to    deal   justly    can    be 
only   partially    successful,   because    lacking   the 
information  necessary  to  compare  relative  needs 
and  to   distinguish    efficiency   from   inefficiency, 
waste  from  economy,  desirable  from  undesirable 

Who  Should  Publish  Municipal  Facts? 

Ballots  do  not  give  up-to-date  facts. 

If  any  special  publication  is  needed  beyond  your 
newspapers  see  if  you  can  get  your  city  officers  to 
start  a  paper  like  the  Denver  Municipal  Facts 
issued  weekly  by  Denver's  city  government. 

Similar  organs  arc  issued  by  state  and  city  depart- 
ments of  health  and  education.  Write  to  your  state 
librarian  for  information  as  to  your  own  and  other 
states. 

If  possible,  resist  the  temptation  to  start  a  bulle- 
tin for  your  own  organization.  Do  not  lose  your 


ONE  IDEA  AT  A  TIME 

chance  to  talk  to  all  the  people  in  your  town  through 
newspapers  by  starting  a  rival  publication  which  must 
be  issued  regularly  whether  you  have  anything  to 
say  or  not. 

Efficient  Citizenship  Bulletins 

Instead  of  starting  a  publication  of  its  own,  the 
New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  has  issued 
since  1907  five  hundred  postal  cards  and  slips  with 
heads  like  those  on  pages  50  and  308.  With  the  title 
Citizens9  Business  the  Philadelphia  Bureau  of  Munici- 
pal Research  is  issuing  a  series.  The  Robert  L. 
Stevens  Fund  for  Municipal  Research  in  Hoboken 
has  in  the  same  way  defeated  the  efforts  of  the  local 
daily  to  keep  news  from  the  public. 

Twice  this  method  of  publicity  has  been  challenged 
and  the  Bureau's  trustees  have  investigated,  once 
shortly  after  the  experiment  started  and  again  in 
July,  1910.  Both  times  the  method  of  telling  but 
one  short  story  at  a  time  on  a  postal  card  has  been 
approved  because  of  results  shown  in  correspondence 
from  other  cities,  newspaper  comment,  gifts,  etc. 

Twelve  Wall  Street  bankers  and  lawyers  were 
asked  their  opinion  of  our  Efficient  Citizenship  cards. 
Twelve  answered  that  they  doubted  if  the  results 
would  justify  the  expense  because  nobody  would  read 
them.  But  twelve  answered  that  they  themselves  did 
read  these  cards ! 


128     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Are  Your  Official  Reports  Educational? 

Ballots  do  not  write  official  reports. 

No  unofficial  citizen  can  ever  be  as  interesting  to 
a  community  as  a  citizen  official.  When  the  presi- 
dent of  a  private  university  speaks  his  message  goes 
directly  to  that  limited  portion  of  the  public  which 
subscribes  to  his  college  yell.  When,  however,  the 
president  of  the  state  university  speaks,  or  the  sec- 
retary of  the  state  board  of  health,  every  person  in 
the  state  involuntarily  feels  that  he  himself  is  speak- 
ing. 

Mayor  Gaynor  asked  why  the  Bureau  of  Munici- 
pal Research  did  not  give  the  budget  exhibit  in  1910. 
My  answer:  Because  for  every  person  inter- 
ested in  an  exhibit  given  by  private  individuals  100 
will  be  interested  in  an  exhibit  given  by  their  own 
representatives,  was  proved  by  800,000  visits  to  the 
city's  exhibit. 

Nothing  which  citizen  organizations  or  individual 
citizens  can  do  these  next  few  years  will  pay  such 
large  dividends  to  society  as  success  in  securing 
proper  official  reports. 

Reports  well  done  bring  financial  support.  It  is 
doubtful  if  there  is  a  city  in  the  country  where  Red 
Cross  stamps  —  important  as  they  are  —  have 
raised  as  much  money  or  done  as  much  good  as 
could  slight  improvements  in  the  reports  of  local 
and  state  health  authorities  which  would  tell  the 
truth  about  the  presence  of  tuberculosis  and  the  need 
for  extending  the  fight  against  it. 


DO  OFFICIAL  REPORTS  HELP? 

I  am  writing  at  the  beginning  of  the  1910  sale 
of  Red  Cross  stamps  in  New  York  City.  A  few 
thousand  dollars  will  be  raised  to  be  spent  through 
one  private  organization.  Yet  less  than  six  weeks 
ago  the  board  of  estimate  asked  taxpayers  interested 
in  tuberculosis  to  tell  what  they  knew  about  it  and 
what  the  city  should  do  to  check  it.  Not  one  single 
word  was  uttered  at  the  hearings  or  through  the 
press  by  any  one  responsible  for  the  sale  of  Red 
Cross  stamps. 

Where  official  reports  fail  to  try  to  make  the  whole 
truth  interesting  to  the  public,  almost  without  ex- 
ception they  are  telling  mis-truths  and  in  too  many 
instances  are  attempting  to  conceal. 

Official  reports  well  done  are  better  than  the  refer- 
endum and  the  initiative  because  they  suggest  ways 
in  which  you  can  help  between  election  times  with- 
out regard  to  voting. 

It  is  possible  for  a  woman  single  handed  to  get 
vast  improvements  in  reporting. 

Begin  with  the  reports  of  the  health  departments, 
the  schools,  parks,  and  juvenile  courts.  If  they 
show  you  community  needs  not  met  some  of  you 
can  begin  at  once  to  cooperate  with  the  department 
heads  in  having  the  needs  met.  If  they  do  not  state 
where  the  school  work  or  health  work  or  probation 
work  needs  strengthening  there  is  something  wrong 
with  the  report  and  with  the  work.  This  same  re- 
mark, by  the  way,  applies  to  church  reports  and 
women's  club  reports  also. 

To  recommend  adequate  and  uniform  reports  the 


130     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

National  Education  Association  has  a  special  com- 
mittee the  results  of  whose  work  you  may  secure  upon 
application  to  the  United  States  bureau  of  educa- 
tion. If  you  will  send  a  copy  of  your  own  school 
report  or  health  report  to  your  respective  state 
secretaries  they  will  probably  be  glad  to  tell  you 
where  certain  facts  are  lacking  or  how  these  reports 
might  show  more  effectively  where  your  local  work 
needs  strengthening.  The  only  agency  that  can 
now  be  appealed  to  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
for  help  in  analyzing  reports  is  the  Bureau  of 
Municipal  Research,  New  York  City. 

There  are  a  few  essentials  not  usually  found  in 
reports  which  are  mentioned  in  different  parts  of  this 
book  and  which  I  summarize  here. 

Every  report  should  state  — 

1.  100%   of  the  work  which  an  official  ought  to 
undertake 

2.  100%  of  what  is  actually  undertaken 

3.  With  what  result  the  work  undertaken  is  done 

4.  100%  of  the  facts,  as  above,  for  each  kind  of 
work  undertaken  and  done 

5.  Facts  for  not  less  than  two  years 

6.  Decrease  or  increase  of  problems  or  of  work 
done  for  the  periods  contrasted 

7.  Changes  and  relations  should  be  stated  by  per- 
centages as  well  as  by  totals 

8.  Kinds  of  work  and  results  should  be  carefully 
classified 

9.  Significant  facts  should  be  summarized 

10.  Facts  should  be  interpreted 

11.  There  should  be  recommendations  based  upon 
these  facts  for  work  to  be  done  next  year 


VIII 

NEXT  STEPS  TOWARDS  100%  PHILAN- 
THROPY 


Should  Voluntary  Civic  Bodies  be  Efficient? 

In  New  York  City  with  its  5,000,000  inhabitants 
the  list  of  civic  organizations,  churches,  etc.,  in- 
dexed in  the  Charities  Directory  numbers  over  8,000. 
It  takes  700  pages  to  describe  briefly  their  purposes. 
In  the  city  of  Hoboken  with  70,000,  where  you  would 
be  told  that  there  is  very  little  uplift  work,  there 
are  100  organizations. 

Because  ballots  serve  but  once  in  four  years  or  two 
years  or  possibly  once  a  year,  balloting  does  not 
offer  opportunity  for  continuous  service  or  continu- 
ous educational  work.  Therefore,  the  need  for 
large  numbers  of  private  societies  to  organize  the 
team  work  of  citizen  interest. 

Inefficient  organization  of  these  societies  will  re- 
flect itself  in  inefficient  attention  to  government 
agencies.  Women  who  waste  time  in  self  culture 
clubs  will  waste  time  in  work  for  government 
Women  who  think  crookedly  as  charitable  trustees 
will  think  crookedly  as  voters. 

The  various  tests  of  efficiency  in  government  work 
which  are  suggested  in  this  book  need  to  be  applied 
quite  as  rigorously  and  in  much  the  same  manner  to 
voluntary  civic  organizations. 

Several  efficient  voluntary  bodies  have  been  men- 
tioned. Women's  clubs  would  do  well  to  make^  a 
survey  of  the  agencies  in  their  communities,  in- 

133 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

eluding  themselves,  in  answer  to  questions  somewhat 
as  follows: 

In  what  field  is  Society  A  interested? 

What  part  of  that  field  does  it  undertake  to  cover? 

What  part  of  it  does  it  cover? 

How  much  of  the  field  is  left  uncovered? 

Does  the  community  fully  understand  the  differ- 
ence between  what  is  needed  and  what  this  society 
does  ? 

Is  that  difference  due  to  lack  of  funds,  lack  of 
members  or  lack  of  efficiency? 

In  most  communities  such  a  survey  would  dis- 
close the  fact  that  few  agencies  hold  themselves  re- 
sponsible for  covering  100%  of  the  field  which  they 
claim  as  theirs.  There  is  an  almost  irresistible 
temptation,  whatever  the  purpose  of  private  civic 
organization,  to  try  to  concentrate  attention  on  itsi-lf 
rather  than  on  the  field  it  aims  to  cultivate.  This 
temptation  is  due  in  large  part  to  the  necessity  for 
raising  funds.  That  necessity  is  greater  because  the 
work  is  broken  up  into  so  many  parts  with  so  many 
complications  that  both  rich  and  poor  alike  are  con- 
fused and  are  unable  to  see  100%  of  community 
needs. 

However  narrow  the  field  of  any  civic  organization 
it  cannot  fail  to  increase  its  efficiency  if  it  relates 
its  own  programme  to  that  of  both  other  civic  organi- 
zations and  city  government. 

It  is  hard  to  think  of  less  than  100%  of  a  com- 
munity's children  with  a  programme  constantly  con- 
fronting workers  and  contributors  such  as  the  Chil- 


WOMAN'S  TRUSTEESHIP  135 

dren's   Protective  Union   of  Memphis  prints  on  its 
subscription  blank : 

•» 

1.  Community  Interest  in  Child  Welfare; 
%.  Civic  Responsibility  for  the  safety  and 
well-being  of  all  the  city's   children  but  es- 
pecially Dependents  and  Delinquents; 

3.  Adequate  Legislation  for  Child  Welfare, 
and   zealous    enforcement   of   Child   Helping 
Laws; 

4.  Personal  Service  through  Children's  Aid 
Committee,  to  the  poor,  the  afflicted,  the  way- 
ward —  to  the  end  of  bringing  them  within 
reach  of  existing  remedies. 

Are  Women  Under  the  Law  of  Trusteeship? 

Sentiment  and  law  have  given  the  words  trustee 
and  trusteeship  a  well  merited  halo.  No  greater 
compliment  can  be  paid  to  any  woman  than  that  she 
is  trustworthy,  can  be  trusted,  discharges  a  trust, 
recognizes  her  trusteeship. 

No  words  express  more  delicately  the  distinction 
between  mine  and  thine.  You  give  me  something  in 
trust;  I  keep  it  until  you  demand  its  return.  If  I 
use  it  or  give  it  away  or  sell  it  I  betray  the  trust, 
an  act  of  dishonesty  which  is  regarded  as  more  serious 
than  to  take  something  from  you  when  you  are  not 
looking. 

The  law  of  trusteeship  which  has  been  worked  out 
after  centuries  of  disagreement  and  litigation  holds 
a  trustee  responsible  not  only  for  the  return  of  that 
which  was  given  him  in  trust,  but  for  its  return  in 
good  condition  with  such  increment  as  its  rightful, 


136     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

efficient  use  makes  possible.  For  example,  the 
steward  who  was  given  three  talents  was  expected  to 
return  not  only  the  original  three  talents  but  also 
three  talents  by  way  of  interest.  He  who  was 
given  one  talent  was  condemned  for  having  buried 
it  instead  of  making  it  produce  an  additional 
talent. 

Under  this  law  of  trusteeship  two  heirs  of  Horace 
Greeley  are  now  suing  another  heir  for  several  thou- 
sand dollars.  A  trustee  who  deposited  funds  for 
2%  when  he  could  have  invested  at  5%  was  made 
to  pay  the  difference.  A  trustee  who  spent  money 
on  improving  land  which  could  not  benefit  his  ward 
was  made  to  pay  this  money  back  to  his  ward. 

Applying  this  law  to  our  trusteeship  as  citizens 
it  means  we  are  to  use  to  its  utmost  our  capacity.  It 
means  not  merely  that  we  must  vote  right.  It  means 
we  must  think  right  before  we  vote,  and  so  think 
and  so  act  after  we  vote  that  our  pre-ballot  and  post- 
ballot  use  of  our  trusteeship  will  be  as  intelligent  and 
as  sincere  as  our  placing  the  ballot. 

This  obligation  is  independent  of  the  ballot. 
Christ  did  not  say  to  the  man  with  one  talent, 
"  You  are  free  from  responsibility  for  earning  an- 
other talent  because  you  have  only  one  talent  while 
your  colleagues  have  two  and  three." 

How  many  women  who  are  to-day  urging  the  bal- 
lot have  accepted  in  good  faith  their  trusteeship  and 
are  doing  before  ballot  time  and  after  ballot  time 
what  they  are  easily  able  to  do  to  influence  public 
sentiment  and  official  action  and  to  influence  the 


BETWEEN  ELECTION  TRUSTEES     137 

placing  of  ballots  by  those  already  eligible?  Too 
many  of  them  say,  "  Without  the  ballot  we  have  no 
obligation  to  society.  We  shall  not  help  the  schools 
or  the  board  of  health  at  budget  time.  We  shall  sit 
by  and  watch  things  get  worse  and  worse  in  order 
to  further  suffrage." 

One  society  in  New  York  City  goes  so  far  as  to 
pledge  its  members  to  make  no  gifts  to  uplift  work 
until  suffrage  is  won. 

Similarly  many  leading  socialists  neglect  their 
trusteeship  for  the  practical  socialism  which  is  al- 
ready embodied  in  our  government,  such  as  public 
schools,  parks,  docks,  and  street  cleaning  —  on 
the  ground  that  things  cannot  get  better  until  they 
get  worse. 

Any  citizen  taxpayer,  whether  suffragist  or  social- 
ist, plain  ordinary  voter  or  disfranchised  woman,  has 
the  right  to  examine  public  records  in  New  York 
City.  If  he  or  she  finds  wasteful  expenditures,  steps 
may  be  taken  without  any  regard  to  the  ballot  to 
have  the  offending  officer  removed.  Furthermore, 
funds  may  be  recovered  that  have  been  wasted. 

The  law  of  trusteeship  is  treated  in  an  opinion 
submitted  to  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  by 
Mr.  William  J.  Curtis,'  a  New  York  lawyer.  You 
would  do  well  to  possess  yourself  of  this  opinion  and 
to  have  the  law  of  your  state  clearly  recognize  the 
common  law  principle  that  mayors  and  comptrollers 
and  aldermen  are  trustees  in  honor  bound  and  in  law 
bound  to  be  efficient  to  prevent  waste  and  to  act  for 
the  public  welfare.  One  suit  vindicating  this  prin- 


138     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

ciple  would  do  more  for  your  state  than  five  years  of 
woman's  voting. 

Talk  Programmes  for  Women's  Club  Meetings 

"  Show  us  our  selfishness  in  seeking  culture  for 
ourselves  when  we  ought  to  be  seeking  opportunity 
to  help  others." 

The  trouble  with  the  search  for  culture  is  not  that 
it  is  selfish,  but  that  too  often  it  fails  to  get  the  cul- 
ture. The  law  of  trusteeship  makes  it  just  as  in- 
cumbent upon  us  to  be  sure  that  search  for  culture 
results  in  culture  as  that  our  trade  investments  pay 
dividends  commensurate  with  outlay. 

Cultural  clubs  cannot  afford  to  leave  life  out,  least 
of  all  the  life  of  their  own  surroundings.  Instead  of 
being  extraneous  to  culture,  social  problems  are 
fundamental  to  literature,  art  and  music.  Only  a 
superficial  contact  with  culture  is  possible  to  those 
who  have  no  interest  in  their  fellow  men. 

Women's  clubs  are  a  tempting  source  of  power. 
That  is  why  so  many  people  tap  the  reservoir.  It 
pays.  So  we  find  their  programmes  crowded  with 
speakers  and  topics.  If  the  printed  programme  does 
not  contain  more  than  one  subject  there  is  almost 
certain  to  be  some  resolution  or  appeal  and  surely  a 
number  of  announcements.  Thus  even  the  enter- 
tainment product  is  confused  and  blurred  by  the  time 
the  meeting  is  over. 

For  a  woman's  club  meeting  four  different  speak- 
ers had  already  consented  to  talk  for  five  to  seven 
minutes  each  when  I  was  asked  to  be  the  fifth.  I 


TO  MAKE  MEETINGS  COUNT        139 

declined  not  on  the  ground  that  I  could  not  afford  to 
travel  two  hours  for  a  seven-minute  talk,  but  because 
it  was  unfair  to  the  other  speakers  to  take  of  their 
meager  time.  The  combined  salaries  of  these  four 
speakers  totaled  $40,000  a  year.  Yet  this  rich 
woman's  club  generously  consented  to  listen  from 
twenty  to  twenty-eight  minutes  to  descriptions  of 
four  different  nation-wide  activities. 

After  announcing  for  a  university  talk  the  topic, 
"  A  Lesson  in  Civics  from  Pippa  Passes,"  the  chair- 
man wrote  that  everybody  was  curious  to  know  how 
I  was  connecting  civics  and  Pippa  Passes.  Yet  she 
printed  the  title,  "  A  Lesson  in  Civics,"  and  fright- 
ened away  most  of  the  belectured  clientele. 

It  is  possible  to  plan  a  year's  programme  so  as  te 
get  a  cumulative  effect  and  to  interest  women  in  ask- 
ing questions  and  in  bringing  out  each  speaker's  case. 
No  case  needs  bringing  out  more  than  that  of  cul- 
ture subjects. 

Whatever  the  purpose  of  a  woman's  club  and  how- 
ever small  a  community,  a  balanced  programme 
should  provide  each  year  for  some  distinct  reference 
to  needs-not-yet-met  of  health  work,  public  schools, 
town  cleanliness,  town  beauty  and  government  effi 

ciency.  , 

In  planning  either  the  talk  programme  or  ' 

programme  for  your  club  a  good  source  of  sugge* 

tion  is  the  president  of  your  state  federation. 

ter  still  is  the  list  of  things  not  done  that  ought 

done  for  your  neighborhood. 

Have  you  tried  writing  to  each  member  < 


140     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

club  asking  for  suggestions,  and  sending  back  the 
compilation  of  suggestions  for  a  preferential  vote? 
This  will  give  women  training  in  initiative  and  refer- 
endum and  will  probably  show  how  few  wish  direct 
representation  and  how  many  feel  with  Mr.  Carnegie 
that  efficiency  requires  the  "  divine  art  of  delegation." 

For  a  scientific  and  interesting  outline  of  topics  on 
"  what  my  town  is  doing  for  its  citizens  "  secure  the 
programme  of  the  Philadelphia  City  Club  for  1910- 
11. 

The  Voter's  League  of  Cleveland  published  in  one 
of  its  1911  bulletins  a  suggestive  list  of  topics  on 
community  work. 

Work  Programmes  for  Women's  Clubs 

The  list  of  things  done  by  women's  clubs  includes 
practically  everything  which  any  community  has 
undertaken  for  the  past  ten  3rears. 

Femince  nih'il  atienum  est! 

For  1910  the  Concord,  N.  H.,  Woman's  Club  give 
to  its  civics  committee  seven  meetings :  one  on  "  Ideals 
of  Good  Citizenship";  three  on  "The  City's 
Health";  and  three  on  "The  City  Beautiful." 

The  Civic  League  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  reports  for 
1910  "  Work  Accomplished  and  Measures  Fur- 
thered," as  follows: 

Four  School  Gardens  established  and  maintained 

(A  number  more  needed.) 
Two  Playgrounds  instituted  and  maintained  until 

turned    over    to    the    Playground    Association 

formed  in  1908. 


ONE  CLUB'S  WORK  PROGRAMME     141 

League  for  Good  Citizenship  organized  in  the 
public  schools  to  awaken  civic  pride  and  sense 
of  responsibility  in  the  children. 

Mothers9  Meetings  held  in  the  schoolhouses  to 
arouse  parents'  interest  and  give  assistance  in 
their  home  training. 

Movement  for  a  Building  Law  initiated  and,  with 
the  cooperation  of  eight  other  societies,  brought 
to  successful  issue.  Efforts  made  since  its  pas- 
sage (in  1908)  to  have  a  Buildmg  Inspector  ap- 
pointed, which  has  now  been  effected. 

In  cooperation  with  the  Tuberculosis  Society,  cards 
and  leaflets  distributed  to  dealers  and  customers 
in  regard  to  the  Milk  Supply. 

Request  to  the  Representative  Council  for  new 
Street  Signs,  resulting  in  their  installation  to  the 
number  of  2,000. 

Preservation  of  the  fine  old  Elm  Trees  in  Dear- 
born Street. 

Rubbish  Barrels  placed  in  different  parts  of  the 
city.  At  the  request  of  the  League,  additional 
barrels  and  signs  placed  in  the  public  parks  by 
the  Park  Commission. 

Unceasing  agitation  for  the  removal  of  obnoxious 
Billboards,  and  the  suppression  of  Slot  Machines, 
Improper  Shows,  Plays,  Postal  Cards  and  other 
harmful  agencies. 

Constant  cooperation  with  the  city  officials  as  to 
condition  of  Streets  and  Sidewalks,  proper  collec- 
tion of  Ashes  and  Garbage  and  observance  of 
City  Ordinances. 

Recommendation  to  the  city  Council  (in  1 

a  woman  representative  be  retained  on  the  School 
Board. 

Lectures  free  to  the  public  delivered  by  Professor 
Cummings  of  Harvard,  Professor  Zueblin,  Mrs. 


U2     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

L.  A.  Mead,  Mrs.  Owen  Wister  and  other  well- 
known  authorities,  on  subjects  of  general  inter- 
est. 

Monthly  Bulletin  issued,  of  which  The  Survey 
says,  u  This  little  paper,  which  is  admirably 
written,  keeps  all  to  whom  it  goes  in  touch  with 
local  civic  matters,  emergencies,  opportunities 
and  duties.  And  it  is  very  readable." 

The  report  of  the  biennial  session  of  the  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs  for  1910  tells  what  hundreds 
of  clubs  have  done,  or  done  at.  Why  not  print  in 
your  Talk  Programme  for  1911—12,  a  summary  show- 
ing for  five  years : 

What  your  club  set  out  to  do? 
What  it  got  done? 
What  it  only  talked  about? 
What  it  can  get  done  next  year? 
What  it  can  start  next  year? 

The  City  Beautiful 

Which  shall  come  first:  beautiful  homes  or  beau- 
tiful cities,  beautiful  public  buildings  or  beautiful 
residences?  Shall  we  urge  municipal  art  because  it 
is  beautiful;  because  it  is  expensive;  because  it  is  a 
substantial  asset  for  a  community ;  or  for  all  three 
reasons  ? 

The  next  decade  will  see  a  veritable  revolution  in 
municipal  art  because  architects,  business  men  and 
women's  clubs  are  combining  to  keep  the  fires  of  art 
burning  in  all  parts  of  the  land. 

Every  community  should  have  its  group  —  or  its 


MUNICIPAL  ART  IN  PRACTICE      143 

informed  individual  —  interested  in  urging  standards 
of  beauty  and  protesting  against  everything  that  is 

ugly. 

Street  trees  are  beautiful.  So  are  clean  streets. 
Better  have  no  parks  than  "  unbeautiful "  parks. 

Sometimes  those  who  possess  beautiful  paintings  or 
statuary  or  tapestries  loan  their  collections  to  public 
libraries  or  volunteer  committees.  Several  cities  have 
loan  collections  of  pictures  for  school  children  to  take 
home  and  circulate  like  books. 

In  New  York  City  there  is  a  municipal  art  com- 
mission which  has  power  to  prevent  the  erection  of 
any  structure  from  public  funds  which  shall  not  be 
beautiful  to  look  upon.  As  a  rule  architects  and 
builders  are  persuaded  that  the  substitute  proposed  by 
this  municipal  commission,  because  more  artistic,  will 
reflect  greater  credit  on  themselves. 

Start  your  municipal  art  movement  with  the  public 
school.  If  it  is  already  started  somewhere  else,  ex- 
pand it  to  include  the  public  school.  Next  in  im- 
portance are  other  public  meeting  places.  To  teach 
art  in  a  hideous  school  building  is  just  as  effective 
as  to  teach  fresh  air  gospel  in  unventilated  school 
rooms.  The  practice  of  art  is  essential  to  the  teach- 
ing of  art.  Women's  clubs  can  do  much  to  practice 
and  teach  art  by  making  beautiful  the  buildings 
and  streets  for  which  the  city  government  is  re- 
sponsible. 

Presents  to  school  children  who  grow  the  prettiest 
plants  or  bring  in  the  prettiest  flowers  or  keep  the 
best  back  yards  and  front  yards  will  do  much  to 


144     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

cultivate  a  sense  of  the  beautiful.  So  will  clean  win- 
dows, clean  floors,  clean  air. 

With  art,  seeing  is  believing.  Few  people  can 
cultivate  distaste  or  indifference  to  the  beautiful. 
One  of  the  most  unpromising  boys  once  came  into 
my  school  room  during  recess  time  ostensibly  on  an 
errand.  When  I  asked  why  he  was  violating  the  rule 
that  kept  children  out  in  the  air  during  recess,  he  re- 
plied that  he  came  in  just  to  see  the  flowers, —  one 
bouquet  on  each  desk.  A  tenement  mother  given  a 
fresh  air  outing  at  Sea  Breeze,  Coney  Island,  looked 
out  upon  the  ocean  through  the  trees  which  are  called 
the  "  scenery  "  by  those  more  familiar  with  east  side 
theaters  than  with  groves,  then  began  to  stumble  and 
look  as  if  she  were  about  to  faint.  When  the  su- 
perintendent supported  her  and  asked  if  she  were 
sick,  she  said :  "  No,  only  I  didn't  know  it  could  be  so 
beautiful!" 

The  best  information  regarding  efforts  to  beautify 
cities  may  be  had  by  addressing  The  Secretary, 
Municipal  Art  Commission,  City  Hall,  New  York 
City;  The  American  Civic  Association,  Washington, 
D.  C. ;  The  National  City  Planning  Association,  New 
York  City ;  and  The  Survey,  New  York  City. 

Before  writing  for  information  ask  yourself  if  you 
really  do  want  a  city  beautiful. 

Do  you  love  beauty  or  the  idea  of  loving  beauty? 
Do  you   have  beautiful  things   in   your  working 

room  and  sleeping  room  or  do  you  reserve  them 

for  company? 


BEGGING  IS  UNBEAUTIFUL         145 

Do  you  find  it  intolerable  to  have  your  own  front 

yard  "  unbeautif ill  ?  " 
Is  the  street  in  front  of  your  residence  clean  and 

beautiful? 

What  are  you  doing  to  preserve  street  trees? 
How  does  your  city  home  look  in  the  summer  time 

"  when  everybody's  away  "  and  you  are  at  the 

seashore  or  in  the  mountains? 
Would  you  favor  a  law  compelling  rich  people  to 

make  and  keep  their  yards  and  houses  beautiful 

to  look  upon  until  their  return? 

Vagrancy  in  Begging  and  in  Art 

No  programme  for  a  city  beautiful  is  complete  that 
does  not  provide  for  keeping  beggars  off  the  street. 

The  shortest  cure  for  vagrancy  is  to  abolish  va- 
grant giving  just  as  the  shortest  cure  for  a  city  ugly 
is  to  produce  a  race  of  men  and  women  who  love 
and  think  beautiful  things.  If  we  can  ever  get  rid  of 
the  man  or  woman  who  wants  $10  worth  of  satisfac- 
tion for  five  cents,  it  will  be  easy  to  get  rid  of  the  man 
or  woman  who  wants  five  cents  or  $5  for  a  hard  luck 
story. 

If  an  aged  woman  is  in  need  of  hospital  treatment, 
it  is  cruel  to  force  her  to  beg  from  man  to  man  to 
get  that  treatment.  Any  able  bodied  man  or  woman 
ought  to  be  ashamed  to  contribute  five  cents  toward 
that  treatment  when  he  or  she  could  be  the  means  of 
sending  the  needy  person  to  a  hospital  or  charitable 
agency  that  can  give  her  what  she  needs. 

When    your   policeman    winks    at    street   begging 


146     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

please  do  not  give  him  credit  for  a  kind  heart.  The 
probability  is  he  is  being  bribed  to  help  that  beggar 
violate  the  law.  If  there  is  no  law  in  your  com- 
munity against  street  begging,  take  steps  at  once  to 
secure  such  a  law,  out  of  kindness  to  the  beggar  as 
well  as  regard  for  public  decency.  Nobody  is  really 
kind  to  the  beggar  who  does  not  make  it  unnecessary 
and  hence  wrong  for  him  to  beg. 

Merchants  will  pay  to  keep  beggars  from  standing 
in  front  of  their  business;  householders  will  pay  to 
keep  beggars  from  coming  to  their  front  or  back 
door;  church  goers  will  pay  to  keep  from  being 
forced  to  give  alms  to  people  who  advertise  their  un- 
worthiness  by  mendicant  attitude  or  marks  of  dis- 
sipation. Yet  people  will  continue  to  give  where 
they  know  they  ought  not  to  give  unless  there  is  some 
place  or  some  person  constantly  at  hand  or  within 
telephone  reach  to  assure  housekeepers  and  merchants 
that  in  sending  beggars  away  from  their  premises 
they  are  sending  them  toward  adequate  relief. 

In  New  York  City  there  is  a  National  Association 
for  the  Prevention  of  Imposture  and  Mendicancy. 
It  publishes  reports  and  tells  of  innumerable  ways  of 
doing  away  with  vagrancy  by  giving  vagrants  bet- 
ter things  to  do.  If  not  convinced  that  begging  can 
be  stopped  where  police  departments  really  want  to 
stop  it,  write  to  that  society.  For  general  informa- 
tion on  constructive  relief  work  write  to  The  Survey. 


SOCIALIZING  LIBRARIES  147 

Does  the  Public  Library  Belong  to  You? 

At  New  York  City's  budget  exhibit  in  1910  a  pin 
map  and  photographs  showed  where  814  traveling 
libraries  of  fifty  volumes  each  were  located  in  depart- 
ment stores,  theaters,  workshops,  office  buildings.  In 
pins  of  another  color  were  shown  home  libraries  sent 
to  distant  homes  or  to  invalids  unable  to  go  to  li- 
braries. Similar  traveling  libraries  are  now  sent  out 
by  several  states,  sometimes  by  the  department  of 
education  and  sometimes  by  state  public  libraries. 

In  many  libraries  public  exhibits  of  art,  school 
work  and  budgets  are  given.  Others  prepare  briefs 
for  school  children,  women's  clubs,  etc.  No  other 
agency  can  be  of  such  prompt  and  varied  assistance 
to  women's  clubs  and  to  others  interested  in  govern- 
ment. 

In  return  for  the  library's  help  you  can  help  it 
get  the  funds  it  needs  to  be  of  service  to  you  and  to 
others  during  the  next  year. 

There  is  a  temptation  to  organize  special  libraries 
in  civic  and  women's  clubs,  but  in  the  long  run  the 
greatest  good  will  be  rendered  by  making  your  public 
library  the  clearing  house  for  facts,  reading  matter 
and  suggestion. 

Ask  your  local  librarian  for  the  report  of  the  last 
state  meeting  of  librarians.  See  that  the  next  public 
library  building  in  your  city  contains  plenty  of  room 
for  exhibits  and  for  popular  assemblies,  and^  also  a 
children's  room  or  a  period  when  special  attention  will 
be  given  to  children. 


148     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

When  Dr.  Cook  returns  from  the  North  Pole  does 
your  librarian  put  out  all  the  books  about  polar 
expeditions  and  the  world's  great  story  tellers? 

Do  your  newspapers  print  interesting  stories  about 
your  library  and  its  helpfulness? 

Is  it  easy  for  the  library  to  obtain  funds? 

Does  the  library  help  your  schools? 

Is  your  librarian  a  public  character  whose  coopera- 
tion is  enlisted  for  all  good  causes  ? 

Do  your  librarians  wait  on  you  or  help  you? 

Does  the  library  provide  the  local  papers  with  a 
classified  list  of  leading  magazine  articles? 

Has  your  library  the  publications  mentioned  in  this 
book? 

John  Ernest:  Village  Librarian 

In  a  western  village  of  1,000  inhabitants  plus  a 
rich  farming  clientele  lived  a  young  man  known  to 
old  and  young  as  John  Ernest.  From  half  past  one 
to  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he  was  always  in  a 
wheel  chair  in  front  of  the  village  postoffice.  A  care- 
ful observer  would  notice  quite  a  rivalry  to  see  who 
should  bring  John  Ernest's  mail  and  thus  have  the 
best  chance  to  talk  with  him. 

I  was  one  of  his  beneficiaries.  To  him  I  owe  the 
only  memory  I  have  of  Frank  and  Jesse  James.  No 
gratitude  which  I  have  ever  felt  surpasses  my  ap- 
preciation of  the  forbidden  literature  which,  at  an 
early  stage  in  John  Ernest's  career,  he  kept  at  a 
candy  store  on  a  shelf  low  enough  for  small  boys  to 
use.  Yellow  backs  outlawed  by  my  mother  and  by 
other  good  mothers  of  our  community,  and  story 
books  that  told  of  war  and  burglary  and  detectives ! 


ONE  VILLAGE  EDUCATOR  149 

It  was  a  real  joy  going  after  the  mail  on  the  way 
home  from  school  in  those  days  when  stealing  a  few 
minutes  in  John  Ernest's  store  gave  us  pictures  of 
heroism  which  respectable  literature  rarely  affords. 

This  indulgence  was  brief  because  in  the  fight  for 
survival  the  fittest  literature  soon  replaced  the  less 
fit  on  John  Ernest's  shelves.  Moreover  a  malady 
which  would  now  be  known  as  spinal  tuberculosis  made 
it  impossible  for  him  to  conduct  the  store  and  John 
Ernest  became  a  semi-recluse.  He  organized  a 
Chautauqua  circle  where  a  new  kind  of  literature 
came  into  vogue.  Callers  at  his  house  would  find 
some  new  books  and  ask  the  price.  At  first  he  would 
loan  a  book  or  try  to  give  it  away.  Later  he  sold 
at  cost  and  finally  at  a  profit.  The  business  thrived 
until  he  conducted  quite  a  book  business  for  he  was 
the  one  in  our  town  who  knew  most  of  both  new  books 
and  the  classics. 

Confined  to  the  house  except  for  short  excursions 
in  a  wheel  chair  pushed  by  others,  John  Ernest  dis- 
covered every  man,  woman  and  child  within  ten  miles 
who  ever  read  a  book.  How  he  discovered  none  of  us 
ever  knew.  But  it  was  apparently  just  as  easy  for 
the  person  who  abhorred  history  to  get  on  a  common 
ground  with  John  Ernest  as  to  science  and  fiction,  as 
it  was  for  the  historian  to  compare  notes  on  Boswell's 
Johnson  or  Carlyle's  History  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion. 

John  Ernest  —  village  educator  —  should  be  a  vil- 
lage institution,  an  indispensable  adjunct  and  inspi- 
rational influence  in  every  public  library. 


150     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Conservation  of  Religious  Energy 

Conservation  of  religious  energy  is  quite  as  im- 
portant as  conservation  of  forests  and  health.  Re- 
ligious leaders  who  stand  still  or  go  backward  as  citi- 
zens can  do  untold  harm  to  religious  work. 

Since  women  are  the  chief  followers  in  church  work 
they  may  determine  what  they  shall  follow. 

Votes  for  women  will  seriously  modify  church 
work.  They  cannot  follow  blindly  in  church  work 
and  keep  their  eyes  open  in  politics,  nor  can  they 
keep  their  eyes  open  in  church  work  and  follow 
blindly  in  politics.  Since  they  are  bound  to  have 
their  eyes  opened  by  the  results  of  their  vote,  it  be- 
hooves leaders  in  church  work  to  furnish  women  ef- 
ficient ways  of  doing  worth  while  service. 

The  two  men  in  small  towns  best  fitted  by  training 
and  by  position  for  leadership  are  usually  the  minister 
and  the  school  principal.  In  larger  communities  the 
minister  and  school  man  often  yield  their  leadership 
in  community  matters  to  the  physician,  lawyer  and 
business  man.  But  in  small  communities  the  time  will 
never  come  when  progress  will  not  depend  largely 
on  the  minister  and  the  schoolmaster, —  the  two  men 
who  are  held  up  as  standards  and  the  two  who  must 
be  forever  conscious  of  their  responsibility  for  leader- 
ship. 

These  two  men  must  be  given  a  social  programme 
and  harnessed  to  the  work  for  efficient  government. 

Any  minister  who  is  a  leading  citizen  will  have  a 
message  that  people  will  wish  to  hear. 


CIVIC  RELIGION  151 

Is  your  church  in  touch  with  your  town? 

Does  the  preacher  use  20th  century  illustrations? 

Is  he  a  leader  in  town  affairs  ? 

Does  he  know  about  town  needs  or  does  he  ask 

outsiders  to  tell  you? 
Is  he  away  all  summer? 
Does  he  see  that  participation  in  government  does 

not  require  going  into  politics? 
Is  he  glad  to  accept  favors  or  other  contributions 

from  men  known  to  be  profiting  from  misgovern- 

ment  ? 


How  Much  Community  Work  Should  Churches  Do? 

The  New  York  philanthropist  who  founded  the 
Bureau  of  Municipal  Research,  Mr.  R.  Fulton  Cut- 
ting, has  now  under  way  a  study  of  practical  com- 
munity work  done  by  churches.  He  is  especially 
interested  to  learn  of  ministers  who  are  leaders  in  ef- 
ficient citizenship  in  its  many  phases  of  obligation 
and  opportunity. 

He  is  asking  for  example: 

Should  the  church  maintain  a  free  kindergarten 
for  a  few  children  or  get  free  kindergartens  in 
the  public  schools  for  all  children? 

Should  a  church  maintain  a  few  shower  baths  for  a 
few  children  or  see  that  through  adequate  build- 
ing laws  and  proper  public  baths  a  shower  bath 
is  put  within  reach  of  all  children  and  all  adults? 

Should  a  church  attack  community  morals  by 
starting  a  boys'  club  or  by  getting  the  schools 
used  for  social  centers  and  by  preventing  gov- 
ernment itself,—  the  courts,  police  departments, 
etc.,— from  promoting  anti-moral  conditions? 


152     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT, 

Humanizing  the  Churches 

In  no  profession  probably  is  there  to-day  the  whole- 
some discontent  that  is  to  be  found  among  ministers. 
They  admit  candidly  that  the  efficiency  of  church  and 
Sunday  school  work  is  not  what  it  ought  to  be. 

Yet  church  work  has  been  peculiarly  woman's  prov- 
ince for  generations.  What  can  women  do  to  cure 
and  to  lead  church  unrest? 

Stop  trying  to  stop  it 

Stop  scolding  it 

Determine  to  guide  it 

Understand  church  unrest  by  first  understanding 
the  social  needs  in  your  community 

To  understand  social  needs  understand  govern- 
ment 

See  that  your  government  keeps  a  legible  record 
of  its  work  and  its  programme 

Urge  your  philanthropists  to  think  first  of  com- 
munity needs  rather  than  of  church  institutions 

"  Ministers  can  stop  letting  others  earn  their 
salaries,"  is  what  one  prominent  clergyman  says. 
Instead  of  asking  outsiders  to  come  in  and  tell  their 
churches  about  social  and  municipal  conditions  they 
can  learn  for  themselves  and  tell  their  congregations, 
and  then  have  their  congregations  tell  outsiders  and 
officials.  Instead  of  trying  to  unite  on  services 
ministers  and  churches  can  unite  on  community  work. 
There  is  no  step  that  has  been  suggested  in  this  book 
for  women  wishing  to  influence  government  and  to 
discharge  their  obligations  of  citizenship  which  can- 


SUMMER  LETHARGY  153 

not,  with  equal  force,  be  urged  upon  ministers  and 
church  leaders. 

Because  practically  no  community  is  so  small  as 
not  to  have  its  church  organization  and  repeated 
church  appeal,  the  humanizing  of  the  church  is  an 
important  essential  in  christianizing  government. 

Church  clubs  can  be  given  real  things  to  do. 
When  churches  stimulate  their  members  to  purify 
milk  supplies,  check  infant  mortality,  and  organize 
citizen  movements  for  public  decency  and  enlighten- 
ment, it  will  not  be  necessary  for  churches  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  States  to  send  begging  letters  to  New 
York  City  to  pay  for  carpets  or  organs. 

It  is  a  rule  in  many  cities  that  a  saloon  may  not 
be  run  within  100  feet  of  a  church.  Why  should 
not  churches  make  it  a  rule  that  gambling  houses, 
Raines  law  hotels,  houses  of  prostitution,  unclean 
milk  shops  and  unclean  streets  or  sidewalks  shall  not 
be  tolerated  within  half  a  mile  of  a  church? 

Get  your  church  clubs  for  men  and  women  to  im- 
pose upon  themselves  three  conditions  for  their  meet- 
ings: 

1.  Treat  one  general  subject  at  one  meeting 

2.  Leave  time  for  questions  and  answers 

3.  Do  something  with  the  information  and  inspi- 
ration they  may  receive 

Summer  Lethargy  in  Good  Work 

How  long  a  vacation  does  your  minister  take? 

When  does  he  leave? 

What  happens  while  he  is  gone? 


154     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

When  does  he  come  back? 

When  does  he  get  really  to  work  again? 

How  many  days  of  effective  service  does  he  give 
your  community  each  year? 

Do  you  see  any  reason  why  a  minister  should  leave 
his  city  simply  because  his  leading  parishioners 
can  afford  to  take  long  vacations? 

Would  it  be  well  for  your  church  and  for  your 
city  if  the  ministers  were  to  spend  at  least  a  part 
of  their  long  vacations  studying  the  community 
needs  to  which  they  must  minister  the  coming 
year? 

If  the  minister  himself  can  get  inspiration  only 
from  climbing  the  Alps  or  visiting  European  art 
galleries,  is  there  any  reason  why  his  assistant 
should  not  keep  the  church  work  going  at  full 
blast  and  thus  make  sure  that  community  evils 
are  not  breeding  in  the  very  shadow  of  your 
church  ? 

When  "  everybody's  away "  and  "  nobody's  in 
town "  is  the  very  season  when  the  breakdown  of 
government  is  at  its  height;  when  offenses  against 
public  decency  are  most  flagrant;  and  when  com- 
munity needs  are  out  on  the  street  where  they  can  be 
easily  seen  and  studied. 

Summer  —  and  everyone's  out  of  town, 

Fled  far  from  the  withering  heat 
That  the  sun  all  day  sends  sullenly  down 

On  sweltering  alley  and  street ; 
The  shutters  are  up  in  the  Avenue 

And  the  houses,  so  grim  and  brown, 
Are  empty  —  except  for  a  servant  or  two  — 

For  everyone's  out  of  town. 


WHEN  EVERYBODY'S  AWAY        155 

Each  hour  or  two,  on  the  parched  East  side, 

In  a  beautiful  coach  of  glass, 
Some  baby  is  taking  its  first  grand  ride 

Toward  the  trees  and  the  velvet  grass ; 
Far  out,  where  the  skies  are  a  softer  blue, 

And  the  sun  looks  more  kindly  down, 
The  wan  little  fellows  are  traveling,  too, 

Like  everyone  —  out  of  town. 

—  From  the  Cosmopolitan  —  Montague. 

Oh  ye  that  pleasure  with  laughter  light 

Care  ye  not,  will  ye  not  see 
That  the  waste  is  yours  of  the  harvest  white 

And  yours  must  the  reckoning  be? 
Had  ye  guarded  your  trust  in  the  public  hall 

The  blight  had  not  fallen  down 
On  the  wan  little  fellows  each  and  all, 

Who  are  traveling  out  of  town. 

—  Application  by  Agnes  de  Lima. 

In  most  cities  summer  is  the  time  of  year  when 
plans  for  the  succeeding  calendar  year  are  being  made 
by  city  officials.  The  need  for  good  government  is 
no  more  urgent  in  American  cities  than  the  need  for 
a  new  standard  of  summer  work  on  the  part  of 
churches  and  other  uplift  agencies. 

Can  you  not  plan  as  a  part  of  your  contribution 
to  government  to  have  a  representative  at  work  for 
you  in  the  city  next  summer  and  to  make  sure  that 
vivid  descriptions  of  summer  conditions  will  be  avail- 
able when  your  churches  and  charitable  agencies  re- 
convene in  the  fall? 

If  by  any  accident  the  leaders  of  good  work  could 
be  compelled  to  stay  in  their  cities  during  the  four 


156     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

sultriest,  hottest,  most  dangerous  weeks  of  the  sum- 
mer months,  inefficient  government  would  receive  a 
greater  blow  than  from  many  years  of  uplift  work 
in  the  winter  time  when  evils  are  more  difficult  to  dis- 
cover and  uplift  work  less  inconvenient. 

Loan  Friends  vs.  Loan  Sharks 

A  woman  of  sixty  once  asked  me  to  rescue  her  and 
her  sons  from  loan  sharks. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  a  former  governor.  Her 
two  sons  had  borrowed  $100  to  give  her  hospital  care. 
They  had  since  paid  $450  and  still  owed  $200. 

The  sons  were  in  constant  terror  lest  their  cor- 
poration employers  be  notified.  To  get  money  to 
pay  the  next  instalment  they  went  deeper  in  debt 
with  the  same  or  other  loan  sharks. 

Thousands  of  similar  cases  have  never  come  to 
light. 

The  hardship  caused  in  large  cities  by  loan  sharks 
would  outweigh  in  dollars  the  total  annual  gifts  for 
relieving  distress. 

Is  anybody  in  your  town  ready  to  loan  on  salary 
security  or  personal  character  without  deposit  of 
jewels  or  other  property? 

Can  the  poor  borrow  on  their  furniture  without  be- 
ing robbed? 

For  the  story  of  model  pawnshops  and  for  model 
laws  against  loan  sharks  write  to  the  Provident  Loan 
Association  of  New  York  City,  which  has  several 
branches  and  loans  about  $10,000,000  yearly.  T« 


PUBLIC  CHARITIES  AN  INDEX      157 

learn  how  to  start  such  loans  on  a  self-supporting 
basis  write  to  the  Russel  Sage  Foundation,  New  York 
City. 

Are  You  Proud  of  Your  Public  Charities? 

Although  the  greatest  philanthropist  is  govern- 
ment, the  attention  of  those  most  interested  in  phi- 
lanthropy has  heretofore  been  largely  diverted  from 
philanthropy  through  government,  to  private  charity 
work. 

It  has  been  assumed  that  public  almshouses  and 
hospitals  must,  of  course,  be  in  the  hands  of  politi- 
cians and  must  of  course  be  badly  managed.  Un- 
sound distinctions  have  been  permitted  to  grow  up 
between  public  and  private  charities.  For  genera- 
tions philanthropists  have  given  liberally  to  private 
organizations  what  they  have  refused  to  give  through 
public  taxes.  In  our  great  cities  thousands  of  peo- 
ple are  willing  to  accept  gifts  of  bread  or  rent  or 
hospital  care  from  private  agencies  who  would  feel 
disgraced  by  going  to  a  public  hospital  or  almshouse. 
This  false  distinction  has  been  encouraged  by  private 
philanthropy. 

Two  of  the  most  interesting  experiences  I  ever  had 
in  relief  work  were  with  a  young  woman  and  a  young 
man,  both  needing  hospital  treatment,  but  both  pre- 
ferring to  die  rather  than  go  to  New  York  City's 
free  hospital  on  Blackwell's  Island.  I  made  little 
headway  by  telling  them  that  Homer  Folks  had  made 
this  institution  a  hospital  rather  than  an  almshouse. 
I  did  succeed  in  interesting  both  in  the  social  harm 


158     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

that  comes  from  the  false  distinction  between  help 
from  private  funds  and  help  from  public  funds. 
Each  finally  decided  to  go  into  the  hospital  to  be  of 
service,  to  be  cheerful  and  happy,  and  to  help  change 
the  atmosphere  for  both  worker  and  inmate. 

To  get  rid  of  false  distinctions  between  adequate 
public  relief  and  adequate  private  relief  is  one  of 
woman's  civic  opportunities. 

Anyone  reading,  as  I  have  read  in  the  past  fVw 
months,  4,000  appeals  from  all  sections  of  the 
country  would  realize  that  public  relief  and  hospital 
treatment  will  never  be  on  a  proper  basis  until  we 
give  up  our  present  fear  of  what  is  called  "  outdoor 
relief,"  that  is,  payment  from  public  funds  to  needy 
persons  in  their  homes.  In  only  a  few  of  the  largest 
cities  is  private  philanthropy  equipped  to  take  care 
6f  all  the  needy.  Yet  the  theory  which  leaves 
outdoor  relief  to  private  charity  and  indoor  relief 
to  public  charity  has,  thanks  to  the  efficiency  of 
charity  organization  experts  in  large  cities,  been 
forced  upon  small  communities  and  rural  districts 
where  private  philanthropy  will  never  be  able  and 
never  should  be  able  to  do  the  neighborly  service  that 
an  efficient  government  should  do. 

Nobody  believes  the  United  States  postoffice  would 
ever  have  developed  as  it  has  if  private  companies 
could  start  rival  carriers  wherever  they  pleased  with 
the  privilege  of  stopping  wherever  they  pleased. 
Radical  as  the  suggestion  is  to  prohibit  private  re- 
lief and  hospital  work,  it  is  worth  your  while  to  con- 
sider whether  relief  work  and  hospital  work  and  the 


PUBLIC  CHARITIES  NEED  HELP     159 

general  government  of  your  community  would  not  be 
vastly  better  if  your  so-called  "  best  people  "  were 
giving  to  government  philanthropy  the  time  and 
thought  now  given  to  private  charity. 

If  you  have  in  your  township,  county  or  state 
any  public  institution  whose  conduct  shocks  you,  or 
if  there  is  any  whose  atmosphere  is  repulsive,  there 
is  a  definite  work  for  you  to  do. 

The  highest  standard  of  private  cooperation  with 
public  charitable  institutions  has  been  set  by  the  New 
York  and  New  Jersey  State  Charities  Aid  Associa- 
tions which  have  volunteer  visiting  committees  in  each 
county.  In  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  etc.,  similar 
duties  are  discharged  by  volunteer  committees  having 
semi-official  positions  and  appointed  by  the  state 
board  of  charities. 

If  you  have  not  yet  realized  that  the  management 
of  your  almshouses,  public  hospitals,  etc.,  is  a 
barometer  of  the  problems  and  decency  of  your  com- 
munity, write  to  State  Charities  Aid  Association, 
New  York  City,  to  The  Survey,  same  address,  and 
to  the  secretary  of  your  state  board  of  charities  and 
ask  for  information  regarding  women's  work  in  con- 
nection with  public  charities. 

If  you  were  sick  would  you  be  unwilling  to  go  to  a 

public  hospital? 
Would  you  rather  die  than  spend  your  last  five 

years  in  a  public  almshouse  or  hospital  for  the 

aged  ? 

Is  the  trouble  with  you  or  with  the  hospital? 
Do  you  see  any  reason  why  a  public  hospital  should 

be  regarded  as  a  pest  house? 


160     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Does  an  "  almshouse  odor  "  reflect  discredit  on  the 

mothers  of  your  community  ? 
Do  you  see  how  your  public  almshouse,  hospital, 

etc.,  help  bring  up  your  child? 
Do  you  know  the  men  and  women  who  are  trying 

to   improve   government   philanthropy    in    your 

community? 
Do  visitors  to  public  charities  see  the  real  needs 

and   fundamental   defects   or  merely   the   senti- 
mental and  morbid  aspects? 
Do  you  find  yourself  more  interested  in  almshouse 

questions  than  in  public  school  questions? 
Does   private   charity   work   with   or   apart   from 

public  charity  in  your  community? 

Taxing  Everybody  for  Private  Charities 

Wherever  public  funds  are  given  to  private 
agencies  the  leaders  in  these  publicly  supported  or 
subsidized  private  agencies  with  very  few  exceptions 
wink  at  misgovernment  and  mis-governors. 

Corrupt  politicians  and  efficient  party  managers 
have  learned  that  one  way  to  "  spike  the  guns  "  of  a 
reform  movement  is  to  buy  off  its  leaders  with  gifts 
to  hospitals,  orphan  asylums,  fresh  air  work,  houses 
of  refuge,  colleges,  industrial  institutions,  etc. 

A  college  trustee  once  said  to  his  colleagues  that 
if  they  would  vote  him  $20,000  and  ask  no  questions 
he  could  get  $90,000  of  state  money  for  their  col- 
lege. He  was  voted  the  money.  No  questions  were 
asked.  He  got  $90,000  and  a  great  deal  more. 

Another  college  professor  came  late  to  a  dinner 
and,  throwing  himself  in  a  chair,  said  he  had  just 
finished  "  the  dirtiest  day's  work  of  my  life."  Yet 


SEMI-PRIVATE  CHARITIES          161 

he  had  merely  helped  several  other  professors  and 
trustees  get  a  lot  of  legislators  sufficiently  intoxi- 
cated to  be  in  a  proper  frame  of  mind  to  understand 
the  educational  needs  of  his  university. 

The  president  of  a  hospital  voted  to  return  a 
man  to  the  legislature  whom  he  believed  to  be  a  dis- 
honest, disreputable  scoundrel.  With  chagrin  he 
told  his  son  that  he  had  to  do  it  because  his  hospital's 
requests  for  state  funds  had  always  been  supported 
by  that  legislator. 

There  are  other  dangers  inherent  in  this  method 
of  supporting  entirely  or  in  part  private  charitable 
work: 

(1)  It  encourages  the  directors  and  contributors 
of  these  agencies  to  take  credit  which  really  be- 
longs to  taxpayers; 

)  It  gives  taxpayers,  in  spite  of  their  contri- 
butions, wrong  distinctions  between  public  and 
private  actions; 

(3)  It  encourages  leading  citizens  to  concentrate 
their  attention  upon  small  fractions  of  the  health 
problem,  for  example,  or  the  child  caring  prob- 
lem when  they  should  be  dealing  with  100  %  of 
these  problems. 

The  dividing  line  between  public  and  private  phi- 
lanthropy is  hard  to  draw.  Those  who  favor  public 
subsidy  of  private  charity  say  that  for  the  same 
money  taxpayers  can  get  much  more  extensive  and 
more  efficient  service  because  their  gifts  are  supple- 
mented by  private  gifts.  Secondly,  it  is  maintained 
that  the  public  supplementing  of  private  gifts  stimu- 


162     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

lates  private  giving,  that  is  to  say,  it  keeps  alive  and 
active  the  humane  spirit  in  a  community  which  is  apt 
to  be  chilled  and  conventionalized,  if  not  deadened, 
where  giving  is  entirely  delegated  to  public  officials. 
Men  who  are  equally  informed  will  differ  radi- 
cally on  this  subject.  Some  believe  that  public  sub- 
sidy dries  up  the  sources  of  private  philanthropy. 
Whatever  you  may  think  at  first  you  will  find  it  in- 
teresting and  worth  while  to  learn  the  facts  about 
your  own  town,  county  and  state. 

Is  public  money  given  to  privately  managed  insti- 
tutions? 

Does  the  public  get  its  money's  worth? 

Does  it  try  to  find  out  if  it  is  getting  its  money's 
worth? 

Does  it  draw  any  line  between  inefficiently  managed 
institutions  and  those  which  are  efficiently 
managed? 

Does  it  make  gifts,  or  pay  for  service  rendered? 

Does  it  seem  to  be  drying  up  sources  of  private 
charity  or  stimulating  them? 

Are  the  best  people  of  your  community  kept  from 
protesting  against  government  evils? 

Are  the  best  people  more  interested  in  private 
hospitals  than  public  hospitals?  In  nursing 
than  in  preventing  cases  of  transmissible  dis- 
eases? In  infant  asylums  than  in  the  health  de- 
partment? 

What  bids  fair  to  be  the  most  important  study  of 
this  subject  ever  made  in  the  United  States  is  now  in 
progress  upon  resolution  of  New  York  City's  board 
of  estimate  and  apportionment,  which  instructed  the 


AN  EPOCH-MAKING  STUDY          163 

city  comptroller  to  find  out  all  about  the  relation  of 
the  city  to  the  hundred  odd  organizations  which  get 
$5,000,000  a  year  for  schools,  hospitals,  placing  out 
children,  rescuing  girls,  fresh  air  work,  etc.  (Ad- 
dress The  Comptroller,  New  York  City,  280  Broad- 
way.) I  say  it  promises  to  be  the  most  helpful  study 
ever  made  because  it  will  include  facts  as  to  Catholic 
and  Protestant  institutions  never  available  heretofore 
because  based  upon  analysis  of  money  spent  and  work 
done  never  made  heretofore. 

Appealing  for  Good  Causes 

Well-to-do  persons  in  all  communities  receive 
"  charitable  "  appeals.  It  is  very  inefficient  for  any 
appealing  agency  to  overlook  a  well-to-do  person. 

Women  do  a  great  part  of  the  work  for  which  ap- 
peals are  made.  When  women  have  suffrage  the 
number  of  private  uplift  agencies  will  not  decrease, 
although  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  their  interest  in 
government  will  increase.  Efficiency  in  stating  the 
truth  regarding  any  "  good  work  "  undertaken  will 
be  an  important  element  in  doing  woman's  part  in 
government. 

Efficiency  in  appealing  has  heretofore  received  too 
little  attention.  Orlando  F.  Lewis  of  the  Prison 
Association  of  New  York  suggests  the  following 
tests : 

1.  Honest;  i.  e.,  not  intentionally  misleading  or 
out  of  balance;  2.  Instructive;  3.  Sympathetic; 
4.  Clear;  5.  Brief;  6.  Varied;  7.  Neat  and 
clean. 


164     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Three  other  tests  ought  to  be  squarely  met  by  any 
appealing  agency : 

1.  That  the  work  which  the  agency  exists  to  do 
needs  to  be  done 

2.  That  the  particular  way  of  going  at  that  work 
which  the  agency  represents  is  up  to  date 

3.  That  the  work  would  not  be  done  by  any  exist- 
ing agency  if  the  appealing  agency  were  not 
in  the  field 

The  vagrant  thinker  about  charity  is  a  greater  evil 
than  the  vagrant  beggar  for  charity.  Good  motive 
in  charity  work  does  not  mean  good  product.  We 
have  no  right  to  try  to  interest  100%  of  the  public  in 
a  \%  job.  Yet  that  is  the  aim  of  most  appeals.  To 
ask  money  of  a  person  for  a  cause  with  which  that 
person  has  absolutely  no  connection  is  just  as  much 
begging  as  to  ask  for  money  on  the  street.  Evasion 
and  exaggeration  are  just  as  serious  evils  in  private 
philanthropy  as  in  government. 

Do  you  remember  "  Little  Joe's  Smile,'*  the  ad- 
vertisement for  Sea  Breeze  Hospital  which  was  pub- 
lished in  all  the  magazines  in  1906-07?  For  an  in- 
stitution which  never  existed  one  bogus  collector 
raised  more  money  than  was  obtained  to  treat  forty 
crippled  children  like  Little  Joe,  suffering  from  bone 
tuberculosis.  One  man  gave  her  $3,500  simply  be- 
cause he  liked  the  way  she  talked  about  children  and 
uplift  work.  This  old  man  would  have  preferred  to 
give  his  money  so  that  it  would  help  children  instead 
of  grafters.  He  made  the  mistake  of  believing  that 


MEETING  100%  OF  NEEDS          165 

he  could  test  the  cause  by  the  pretensions  of  the  col- 
lector. 

In  most  cities  the  sums  raised  for  charities  that 
do  not  exist  —  or  for  charities  that  do  more  harm 
than  good  —  or  for  individuals  who  misuse  their  gifts 
—  total  more  than  would  endow  the  national  cam- 
paigns against  tuberculosis,  child  labor  and  inef- 
ficient government. 

For  the  latest  plan  to  tell  the  public  100%  of 
the  story  about  those  who  give  and  those  who  appeal 
write  to  the  Cleveland  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Philanthropy's  Wastebasket 

One  New  York  philanthropist,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Harri- 
man,  is  having  all  letters  carefully  read  and  analyzed 
to  see  what  lessons,  if  any,  they  contain  for  givers 
and  appealers. 

This  study  was  entrusted  to  the  Bureau  of  Munici- 
pal Research  because  of  its  interest  in  promoting  ef- 
ficient health  and  school  work,  hospital  service,  parks, 
playgrounds  and  "  opportunity  for  everyone  to  be 
efficient." 

Writers  of  the  appeals  analyzed  received  letters 
stating  the  purpose  of  the  study,  the  number  of  let- 
ters read,  the  total  amounts  requested,  plus  sugges- 
tions as  to  work  that  might  be  done  by  their  fellow 
taxpayers  to  give  hospital  treatment,  schooling,  etc. 

The  story  of  these  letters  and  their  evidence  of 
local  breakdowns  in  government  and  in  philanthropy 
will  be  told  at  some  future  time.  For  information 
as  to  method  write  to  the  Bureau. 


166     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  point  I  want  to  make  here  is,  that  it  is  worth 
while  studying  how  people  appeal,  how  they  give  and 
where  needs  are  neglected.  Efficient  giving  will  sel- 
dom be  found  where  efficient  thinking  is  not  found. 
Women  can  help  those  who  appeal  and  those  who 
give,  to  think  efficiently. 

Could  you  believe  that  of  4,000  appeals  for  $106,- 
000,000  very  few  asked  for  enough  to  do  the  work 
outlined,  while  still  fewer  indicated  that  the  writers 
had  done  the  work  which  they  should  have  done  to 
secure  local  support? 

Efficient  Will  Making  and  Efficient  Giving 

Who  is  your  city's  greatest  educator? 

Its  city  government. 
Who  is  your  city's  greatest  philanthropist? 

Its  city  government. 
Who  is  your  city's  greatest  social  worker? 

Its  city  government. 
Who  is  your  city's  greatest  hospital  manager? 

Its  city  government. 

Comptroller  William  A.  Prendergast 
to  the  Monday  Club  of  Social 
Workers,  Annual  Dinner,  1910, 
New  York  City. 

There  will  never  come  a  time  when  the  most  direct 
means  of  promoting  health,  education  and  oppor- 
tunity will  not  be  through  government.  Yet  obvious 
as  this  truth  should  be,  it  has  not  yet  been  grasped 
by  the  nation's  greatest  private  givers  or  by  those 
who  advise  givers. 

People  feel  they  have  a  perfect  right  to  give  away 


EFFICIENT  GIVING  167 

their  own  money  as  they  please.  Even  my  secretary 
asks,  "  Why  shouldn't  they?  "  One  reason  why  they 
should  not  is  that  no  person  should  so  give  away  his 
money  as  to  defeat  the  purpose  of  his  giving.  Yet  a 
great  part  of  the  giving  is  of  this  kind,  where  the 
donor  is  buying  certain  disappointment. 

A  second  reason  is  that  no  man  has  a  right  in  his 
giving  to  make  life  harder  for  his  neighbors  and  to 
delay  social  progress.  Yet  a  pathetically  large  part 
of  public  giving  has  this  unfortunate  result. 

If  givers  wish  self  advertisement,  it  is  fairer  to 
let  them  advertise  themselves  in  a  way  which  will 
not  advertise  their  lack  of  intelligence  or  inefficiency 
in  giving.  No  man  would  really  prefer  to  help  thirty 
children  after  seeing  that  his  gift,  differently  di- 
rected, could  help  3,000  children. 

To  an  extent  which  at  first  they  would  hesitate  to 
admit,  women  are  responsible  for  the  inefficiency 
of  public  giving.  Because  of  their  personal  rela- 
tions with  rich  men  and  their  personal  interest  in 
"  good  causes,"  they  are  directing  gifts  which,  ia 
many  instances,  means  diverting  gifts  from  right  to 
wrong  directions. 

Favoritism  in  giving,  personal  loyalty  to  institu- 
tions, personal  preferences  for  boards  of  managers, 
sentiment  because  of  personal  experiences,  etc*.,  will 
continue  to  influence  giving.  More  benefits  and  less 
harm  will  certainly  be  done  if  it  is  a  matter  of  com- 
mon knowledge  in  your  community  what  kinds^  of 
work  are  already  surfeited  with  money  and  what  kinds 
of  work  are  not  yet  begun  or  are  inadequately  sup- 


168    WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

ported.  Every  town  should  so  advertise  its  unmet 
needs  that  givers  cannot  help  seeing  a  list  of  com- 
munity needs  not  met,  of  opportunities  for  helping 
which  by  their  attractiveness  and  their  insistence 
would  influence  men  and  women  making  up  their 
minds  about  giving. 

No  one  wants  to  give  $2,000,000  to  a  children's 
home  after  he  thoroughly  understands  that  so-called 
homes  are  no  longer  a  fit  place  for  bringing  up  chil- 
dren and  that  for  every  homeless  child  there  are  in 
the  country  two  childless  homes.  No  one  would  pre- 
fer to  build  model  tenements  if  convinced  that  one- 
tenth  the  money  would  bring  all  tenements  up  to  the 
minimum  essential  to  health,  comfort  and  decency. 
No  one  wants  to  start  a  vocational  training  school 
for  fifty  boys  after  once  seeing  that  his  money  spent 
in  a  different  way  would  give  proper  vocational  train- 
ing to  50,000  boys  through  public  schools. 

When  women  become  interested  in  government,  and 
relatively  less  interested  in  the  fractional  problems 
treated  by  charities  and  churches,  they  will  spend  the 
energy  on  community-wide  needs  which  they  now 
often  misspend  on  their  favorite  special  interests. 

It  is  a  result  and  not  an  accident  that  in  the  origi- 
nal request  for  a  charter  for  the  Rockefeller  Foun- 
dation not  one  word  appears  to  suggest  that  there  is 
anything  for  you  and  me  to  do  in  cooperation  with 
this  Foundation  or  that  there  is  anything  which  the 
Foundation  can  do  to  interest  itself  in  100%  of  any 
problems  of  health  or  education  dealt  with  by  govern- 
ment. 


EFFICIENT  WILL  MAKING          169 

If  you  make  clear  what  your  community  needs  that 
it  is  not  getting,  it  still  remains  possible  for  donors 
and  will  makers  to  give  their  money  to  favorite  in- 
stitutions while  directing  their  expenditures  to  pur- 
poses which  need  them  instead  of  other  purposes  so 
well  known  and  so  fashionable  that  they  do  not  need 
the  money. 

One  instance  in  my  own  experience  shows  how  anx- 
ious donors  are  to  do  something  that  needs  to  be 
done.  A  retired  merchant  asked  me  to  talk  with  him 
about  his  will.  In  helping  a  large  number  of  institu- 
tions he  planned  to  give  $75,000  each  to  four  insti- 
tutions. He  asked  me  if  I  would  do  that.  I  said, 
"  No."  He  asked  me  why  not  and  I  said,  "  Because 
your  giving  that  money  will  not  make  a  particle  of 
difference  in  the  work  which  those  four  institutions 
will  do."  He  took  them  up  one  after  another  as  fol- 
lows: 

Is  "  A  "  Society  a  good  society?  —  Yes. 

Does  it  do  efficient  work? — Yes. 

Would  you  give  it  $75,000  ?  —  No. 

Why  not?  —  Because  last  year  it  set  aside  from  its 

income  a  surplus  of  $50,000. 
Is  "  B  "  Society  doing  good  work?  —  Yes. 
Necessary  ?  —  Yes. 
Ought  to  be  supported?  —  Yes. 
Would  you  give  it  this  money  ?  —  No. 
Why  not?  —  Because  it  received  last  year  $b8,Ul 

more  than  it  spent,  has  the  richest  constituency 

in  this  city  and  does  not  even  have  to  ask  foi 

money. 
Is  "  C  "  Society  doing  good  work?  — 


170     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Deserve  to  be  supported  ?  —  Yes. 

Would  you  give  it  this  money?  —  No. 

Why  not?  —  Because  giving  it  money  is  m  ef- 
fect giving  money  to  a  multimillionaire  who  con- 
siders it  his  child  and  is  known  to  step  into  every 
gap. 

He  gave  his  money  to  establish  Caroline  Rest  En- 
dowment Fund  for  instruction  of  mothers  approach- 
ing and  convalescing  from  childbirth.  (See  page 
205.) 

How  prospective  gifts  are  now  "  angled  for "  is 
illustrated  by  another  experience.  A  lawyer  tele- 
phoned for  me  and  greeted  me  with  this  statement: 
"  I  want  to  see  a  man  from  your  society  just  to  see 
how  he  looks.  I  wrote  to  twenty  different  societies 
stating  my  desire  to  give  a  certain  amount  of  money 
and  asking  what  was  needed  in  town  for  children, 
and  the  only  one  that  gave  me  any  information  ex- 
cept that  it  needed  the  money  was  the  letter  from 
your  Mrs.  Ingram." 

What  is  Municipal  Research? 

A  method  not  a  remedy. 

It  takes  its  name  from  a  privately  supported  body 
known  as  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  which 
was  started  in  New  York  in  1906  by  Mr.  R.  Fulton 
Cutting  whose  effort  to  strengthen  church  work  is 
mentioned  on  page  151. 

By  emphasizing  method,  act  and  result  as  the  best 
test  of  official  and  of  policy,  the  Bureau  of  Municipal 
Research  has  in  six  years  accomplished  noteworthy 


MUNICIPAL  RESEARCH  METHODS     171 

results  by  prosecuting  the  programme  defined  in  its 
charter  as  follows: 

To  promote  efficient  and  economical  govern- 
ment; to  promote  the  adoption  of  scientific 
methods  of  accounting  and  of  reporting  the  de- 
tails of  municipal  business,  with  a  view  to  facili- 
tating the  work  of  public  officials ;  to  secure  con- 
structive publicity  in  matters  pertaining  to  mu- 
nicipal problems;  to  collect;  to  classify;  to 
analyze;  to  correlate;  to  interpret;  to  publish 
facts  as  to  the  administration  of  municipal  gov- 
ernment. 

The  Bureau's  method  of  investigation  may  be  ap- 
plied to  any  activity  in  your  city  or  state: 

Ascertain  how  the  powers  and  duties  (and  other 
materials  of  research)  are  distributed 

Avail  itself  of  the  citizen's  right  to  examine  public 
records 

Abstract  and  analyze  such  information  as  is  con- 
tained in  the  records 

Supplement  examination  of  records  by  collateral 
inquiry  where  the  records  are  defective  as  to 
work  and  as  to  conditions  to  be  remedied 

Compare  function  with  accomplishment  and  ex- 
penditure as  to  each  responsible  officer,  each 
class  of  employe,  each  bureau  or  division  ^  ^ 

Confer  with  the  official  responsible  for  the  munici- 
pal   department    or    social    conditions 
studied  ,. 

Secure  promise   of  cooperation,   and  instructi 
that  direct  subordinates  to  cooperate  with  t 
Bureau's  representatives 

Verify  reports  by  usual  accounting  and  researc 


172     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

methods  and  by  conferences  with  department  and 
bureau  heads 

Supervise  work  in  progress 

Hold  frequent  conferences  with  supervisors  and 
directors  as  to  method  of  investigation  and  as  to 
significance  of  facts  disclosed 

Cooperate  with  municipal  officials  in  devising  reme- 
dies so  far  as  these  can  be  effected  through 
changes  of  system 

Make  no  recommendations  as  to  personnel  further 
than  to  present  facts  throwing  light  on  the  ef- 
ficiency or  inefficiency  of  employe  or  officer 

Submit  in  printed  form  suggestions  not  easily 
understood  when  orally  given  and  not  readily 
conveyed  by  typewritten  statements 

Prepare  formal  report  (after  conference  among 
trustees  and  after  editing  by  committee  on  re- 
ports) to  department  heads,  city  executive  of- 
ficers and  general  public 

Support  press  publicity  by  illustrations,  materials 
for  special  articles,  suggestions  to  editors,  to 
city  officials,  and  to  reporters 

Follow  up  educational  work  until  something  definite 
is  done  to  improve  methods  and  to  correct  evils 
disclosed 

Supply  freely  verifiable  data  to  agencies  organ- 
ized for  propaganda  and  for  legislative,  agita- 
tive  or  "  punitive  "  work 

Try  to  secure  from  other  departments  of  the  same 
municipality  and  from  other  municipalities  the 
recognition  and  adoption  of  principles  and 
methods  proved  by  experience  to  promote  ef- 
ficiency 

For  a  list  of  results  and  their  cost  in  detail,  write 
to  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research,  261  Broadway. 


MUNICIPAL  RESEARCH  REPORTS     173 

In  addition  to  500  Efficient  Citizenship  bulletins 
and  hundreds  of  items  through  the  newspapers  which 
have  been  sent  to  city  and  state  superintendents  of 
schools,  mayors,  comptrollers,  editors  and  a  mailing 
list  of  business  men  and  social  workers,  the  Bureau 
has  published  the  following  formal  reports: 

Some  phases  of  the  work  of  the  department  of 
street  cleaning 

City  owned  houses 

Salary  Increases  not  provided  -for  in  budget 

Inefficiency  of  inspection  of  combustibles 

The  City  of  New  York,  the  street  railroad  com- 
panies and  a  million  and  a  half  dollars 

How  Manhattan  is  governed 

New  York  City's  department  of  finance 

Bureau  of  child  hygiene 

A  department  of  municipal  audit  and  examination 

Making  a  municipal  budget;  functional  accounts 
and  records  for  the  department  of  health 

The  park  question;  Part  I,  critical  study  and  con- 
structive suggestions  pertaining  to  administror 
tive  and  accounting  methods  of  the  department 
of  parks:  Manhattan  and  Richmond 

The  park  question;  Part  II,  critical  study  and  con- 
structive suggestions  pertaining  to  revenue  and 
deposits  of  the  department  of  parks:  Manhat- 
tan and  Richmond 

Memorandum  of  matters  relating  to  New 

City's  debt  that  suggests  the  necessity  either  for 
judicial  ruling  or  for  legislation 

New  York  City's  debt:  facts  and  law  relating  to 
the  constitutional  limitation  of  New  York  s  t 
debtedness  .       ,  , 

Collecting  water  revenues:  methods  employed 


174     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

the  bureau,  of  water  register,  Manliattan,  with 
suggestions  for  reorganization. 

What  should  New  York's  next  mayor  do- 

School  progress  and  school  facts 

Tenement  house  administration 

What  should  New  York's  next  comptroller  do 

Business  methods  of  New  York  City's  police  de- 
partment 

How  should  public  budgets  be  made 

School  stories:  a  topical  guide  to  education  hfre 
and  now 

Municipal  reform  through  revision  of  business 
methods 


MUNICIPAL  RESEARCH  issues  A  PAMPHLET.'- 


Even   Newspaper   Jokes    Help 


IX 


HAS  WOMAN  APTITUDE  FOR  HEALTH 
WORK? 


Volunteer  Sanitary  Associations 

IN  spite  of  the  powerful  appeal  in  all  health  work 
there  are  surprisingly  few  strong  associations  having 
to  do  with  the  sanitary  side  of  community  life. 
When  conditions  get  to  the  public  nuisance  stage, 
some  organization  is  apt  to  come  forward  to  demand 
their  correction.  Generally  speaking,  however,  it 
takes  us  twenty-five  years  to  accomplish  what  could 
be  accomplished  in  five  years  if  the  various  organi- 
zations now  touching  sanitary  work  were  to  picture 
to  themselves  and  to  their  communities  100%  of  their 
public  health  problem. 

In  the  past  such  organizations  have  worked  at  but 
fractions  of  the  health  problem  a  small  fraction  of 
the  time  with  too  little  money  and  with  volunteer  part 
time  service.  Too  often  they  have  tried  to  get  health 
departments  to  help  them  instead  of  being  of  service 
to  health  departments. 

It  would  take  several  books  to  describe  women's 
work  in  connection  with  public  health.  Almost  every 
woman  becomes  interested  at  one  time  or  another  in 
some  local  question  concerning  health, —  street  clean- 
ing, diet  kitchens,  model  dairies,  milk  stations,  school 
lunches  and  what  not. 

Health  work  has  too  many  phases  to  be  taken  care 
of  best  in  any  one  organization  even  with  a  number 
of  subcommittees.  There  should,  however,  be  in  all 
communities  some  one  central  body  watching  health 

177 


178     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

needs  and  attempting  to  secure  sustained  attention 
to  different  phases  of  health  problems  by  committees 
of  other  organizations,  chambers  of  commerce,  public 
education  associations,  relief  societies,  etc.  No  sub- 
ject is  foreign  to  health;  even  art  and  music  permit 
of  treatment  from  the  angle  of  health  and  its  beauty. 

There  are  several  next  health  steps  in  American 
communities  requiring  organization  and  sustained 
educational  effort:  physical  education  of  school 
children ;  education  of  mothers  in  the  care  of  children, 
particularly  in  the  care  of  infants ;  reduction  of 
transmissible  diseases;  ventilation  of  public  assem- 
bly halls;  keeping  school  rooms  clean;  cleaning 
streets  and  public  buildings ;  removal  of  refuse ;  coop- 
eration among  hospitals;  abatement  of  smoke  nui- 
sance. 

Do  not  wait  for  doctors  to  lead.  It  is  better  to 
have  them  organize  among  themselves  than  to  have 
sanitary  work  depend  upon  their  "  conservative " 
leadership.  Unfortunately,  it  is  still  true  that  many 
of  those  who  know  most  about  the  human  body  and 
its  needs  know  least  about  public  health.  It  is  par- 
ticularly important  that  all  charitable  agencies  see 
that  the  line  of  easiest  approach  to  public  interest  in 
every  one  of  their  problems  is  through  the  health 
aspects  of  that  problem. 

Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  believing  that  women 
are  per  se  better  health  inspectors  than  men.  Some 
of  the  least  efficient,  and  least  honest  health  work  is 
done  by  women  employes,  just  as  much  health  work 
is  made  necessary  by  woman's  neglect  at  home. 


STATE  HEALTH  STANDARDS        179 

Health  Dynamos:  State  Secretaries  of  Health 

What  do  you  know  about  your  state  department 
of  health? 

Who  is  its  secretary  or  executive  officer? 

Have  you  any  reason  to  be  grateful  for  his  exist- 
ence ? 

How  have  you  felt  his  influence  on  your  com- 
munity ? 

If  your  state  veterinarian  is  better  known  than  the 
secretary  of  the  state  board  of  health,  it  is  because 
the  man  who  cares  for  cattle,  horses  and  pigs  has 
made  it  a  little  clearer  that  he  is  worth  while  than 
the  man  who  cares  for  the  health  of  babies,  workmen 
and  all  other  human  users  of  milk,  water  and  air. 
It  is  likely  that  your  state  veterinarian  has  in  the 
past  been  more  direct  in  his  methods,  more  helpful 
in  his  recommendations,  more  exacting  in  his  demands 
and  more  efficient  in  his  educational  work. 

There  are  enough  exceptions  to  the  rule  now 
among  state  departments  of  health  so  that  you  can 
find  "  live  wires  "  to  talk  about  in  case  your  own 
state  secretary  needs  a  larger  programme  or  a  larger 
appropriation.  In  Maryland  and  Wisconsin,  for  ex- 
ample, traveling  exhibits  and  traveling  schools  are 
showing  the  most  remote  districts  how  to  keep  hu- 
man animals  alive  and  well.  In  Pennsylvania  an 
enormous  fund  of  $1,500,000  was  voted  for  a  state 
wide  fight  against  tuberculosis  which  was  infinitely 
more  intelligent  than  to  give  some  private  agency 
power  to  do  retail  educational  work. 

For  admirable  health  buUetins  write  to  the  Michi- 


180     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

gan  Board  of  Health,  Lansing,  Mich.,  and  ask  for 
samples  of  its  "  healthgrams,"  —  brief  news  items 
in  attractive  form  and  appeals  for  public  coopera- 
tion. 

For  the  same  reason  that  your  newspapers  are 
eager  for  news  about  New  York,  every  newspaper 
in  your  state  will  be  glad  to  publish  news  from  your 
state  board  of  health.  Big  numbers  are  more  inter- 
esting than  little  numbers  because  they  make  a  more 
vivid  impression.  Statements  comparing  your  town 
with  other  towns  of  approximately  the  same  size 
near  it  will  always  stimulate  interest  and  rivalry. 
Ask  your  state  secretary  to  rank  his  cities  according 
to  population,  number  of  births,  total  number  of 
deaths,  number  of  deaths  from  preventable  diseases, 
number  of  infant  deaths,  particularly  infant  deaths 
from  diarrheal  diseases,  number  of  deaths  from  other 
preventable  diseases,  such  as  tuberculosis,  scarlet 
fever,  typhoid,  and  the  number  of  cases  of  preventa- 
ble diseases  notified  by  the  various  health  officers  to 
the  state  department. 

Ask  him  in  his  next  annual  report  to  tell  par- 
ticularly whether  it  is  still  possible  in  any  part  of 
the  state  for  people  to  die  and  be  buried  without 
formal  notice  of  the  fact  being  registered  or  for 
babies  to  be  born  without  the  fact  being  known  at 
state  headquarters. 

Have  the  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  re- 
port at  your  next  general  session  answers  to  the  fol- 
lowing questions : 


STATE  HEALTH  OFFICERS         181 

Is  your  state  secretary  of  health  an  educator? 

Is  he  regarded  as  efficient  by  sanitary  experts? 

Has  he  an  adequate  staff? 

Is  he  trying  to  do  enough  for  your  state? 

Could  his  reports  be  more  interesting  and  instruc- 

|    •  «S 

tiver 

Are  his  reports  copied  in  the  newspapers? 

Will  he  examine  samples  of  sputum  from  any  part 
of  the  state,  or  diphtheria  cultures  or  dairies  and 
milk  shops  (as  is  done  in  New  Jersey  for  ex- 
ample )  ? 

Do  his  tables  rank  cities  according  to  different 
tests  of  efficient  health  administration,  starting 
with  arrangement  according  to  size  rather  than 
alphabet? 

Perhaps  your  state  officers  would  attend  your 
county  and  state  meetings  and  explain  how  women 
can  help  raise  the  standard  of  health  administration 
throughout  your  state. 

State  Health  Conferences 

The  sanitary  officers  of  many  states  have  annual 
meetings  which  are  growing  in  importance.  If  your 
state  is  not  in  line,  secure  a  copy  of  the  report  for 
New  York's  tenth  annual  (Buffalo)  conference,  1910, 
where  physicans,  dentists,  nurses,  mayors  and  alder- 
men discussed  the  following  subjects: 

1.  Public  health  and  the  school: 

(a)  As  an  aid  to  public  health  work 
(6)  Follow-up   work 

(c)  School  hygiene  and  school  disease 

(d)  From  standpoint  of  educationalist 


182     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

2.  Public  health  and  the  dental  profession 
S.  Public  health  and  the  medical  profession 

(a)  The  difficulties  of  health  officers  as  seen 
by  the  physician 

(b)  The  spirit  of  mutual  helpfulness 

4.  Public  health  and  the  press 

(a)  From  the  health  officer's  standpoint 

(b)  From  the  newspaper  man's  standpoint 

5.  Public  health  and  municipal  authorities 

(a)  What  a  health  department  expects  from 
municipal  authorities 

(  b  )  From  the  standpoint  of  the  municipal  of- 
ficer 

6.  public  health  and  the  conservation  movement 

7.  Public  health  and  the  public  purse 

8.  Garbage  disposal 

9.  City  sanitation 

10.  Milk  and  foods 

11.  Rural  hygiene 

12.  The  laboratory  as  an  aid  to  diagnosis 
IS.  Reporting  communicable  diseases 

14.  Quarantine,  isolation  and  disinfection 

15.  The  control  of  typhoid  fever 

16.  Unattacked  communicable  diseases 

17.  Epidemic  anterior  poliomyelitis 

18.  The  tuberculosis  campaign  as  conducted  by  the 
state  department 

Stamping  Out  Transmissible  Diseases 

Ballots  do  not  stop  contagion. 

"  Catching  diseases  "  are  less  terrifying  than  when 
they  used  to  be  considered  messengers  of  an  indig- 
nant providence.  But  they  still  cost  this  country 
two  billion  dollars  a  year.  Nor  have  they  grown  less 
annoying.  It  is  no  special  consolation  to  a  mother 


WHY  CATCHING  DISEASES  CATCH     183 

when  her  baby  is  tossing  with  diphtheria  that  only 
one  in  ten  dies  from  that  disease.  We  cannot  be 
overproud  when  1,500,000  hospital  beds  are  un- 
necessarily in  constant  use. 

Over  630,000  people  die  every  year  in  this  country 
from  causes  that  are  easily  preventable.  That  means 
630,000  scandals,  630,000  disgraces,  630,000  out- 
rages against  intelligence,  630,000  reasons  why 
women  should  understand  that  transmissible  diseases 
cannot  be  abolished  by  the  ballot. 

No  mother  can  be  sure  that  she  is  protecting  her 
own  children  from  transmissible  diseases  unless  she 
sees  to  it  that  other  children  are  equally  protected. 

A  school  teacher  guiding  the  hand  of  a  six  year 
old  Hoboken  child  noticed  that  it  was  rough.  She 
immediately  sent  the  child  home  where  the  school 
nurse  discovered  three  children  with  scarlet  fever. 
The  mother  had  not  told  anybody  because  she  had 
just  come  to  this  country  and  was  frightened  and  did 
not  know  what  to  do. 

An  academic  friend  of  mine  was  once  making  a 
"  scientific  survey  of  living  conditions  "  in  Chicago. 
A  Polish  family  permitted  him  to  measure  all  rooms 
but  one.  This  they  obstinately  refused  to  open. 
Finally  h£  displayed  a  policeman's  badge  and  forced 
his  way  into  a  close,  dark  room  where  he  found  a 
man  in  bed.  The  reluctant  family  admitted  that  he 
was  only  an  uncle.  He  had  just  been  sick  for  sev- 
eral days.  In  fact  he  had  the  smallpox!  In  such 
concealed  cases  of  contagion  lies  a  menace  to  the 
public  and  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that  in  1910 


184     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

there  were  24,000  inexcusable  cases  of  smallpox  in 
the  United  States. 

Individuals  cannot  stop  transmissible  diseases. 
They  must  work  with  other  individuals  through  effi- 
cient local  and  state  departments  of  health  which  see 
the  importance  of  the  following  steps : 

1.  Notification  of  danger  when  it  is  first  recog- 
nized 

£.  Registration  at  a  central  office  of  facts  as  to 
each  dangerous  thing  or  person 

8.  Examination  of  the  seat  of  danger  to  discover 
its  extent,  its  cost  and  new  seats  of  danger 
created  by  it 

4.  Isolation  of  the  dangerous  thing  or  person 

5.  Constant  attention  to  prevent  extension  to  other 
persons  or  things 

6.  Destruction    or   removal   of   disease    germs    or 
other  causes  of  danger 

7.  Analysis  and  record,  for  future  use,  of  lessons 
learned  by  experience 

8.  Education  of  the  public  to  understand  its  re- 
lation to  danger  checked  or  removed,  its  respon- 
sibility for  preventing  a  recurrence  of  the  same 
danger,  and  the  importance  of  promptly  recog- 
nizing and  checking  similar  danger  elsewhere 

You  can  tell  which  of  these  steps  are  not  being 
taken  properly  by  your  department  of  health. 

Quite  generally  now  we  have  come  to  recognize  that 
when  children  get  scarlet  fever  or  diphtheria  or 
measles  they  should  stay  away  from  school.  Quite 
as  generally,  however,  we  are  still  careless  of  children 
who  are  excluded  from  school  because  of  transmissi- 


STOP  WHOOPING  COUGH  185 

ble  diseases  and  permit  them  to  mingle  with  other 
children  on  the  street  and  in  homes. 

Recently  a  child  came  down  with  whooping  cough 
in  Southampton,  Long  Island.  To  protect  his 
brothers  and  sisters  this  little  boy  was  sent  to  his 
grandparents  at  Amagansett.  As  a  consequence 
over  forty  children  in  Amagansett  indulged  them- 
selves in  whooping  cough  throughout  last  summer. 

Maine's  board  of  health  says  our  present  careless- 
ness with  regard  to  whooping  cough  is  criminal. 
That  disease  generally  thought  to  be  harmless  causes 
more  deaths  in  most  communities  than  measles  or  scar- 
let fever  and  in  1910  caused  65  times  as  many  deaths 
as  smallpox.  "As  95%  of  the  deaths  from  whoop- 
ing cough  occur  before  the  fifth  year,  we  could  save 
nearly  all  of  the  children  from  dying  from  it  if 
we  could  keep  them  away  from  direct  infection." 

The  preventable  diseases  that  are  most  costly  in 
lives  and  in  days  of  sickness  are  simple  to  prevent 
if  individuals  will  follow  certain  well-defined  rules 
of  health.  We  know  how  to  prevent  and  cure 
tuberculosis.  We  know  how  to  prevent  sex  diseases, 
although  some  of  them  are  practically  incurable. 
We  know  how  to  prevent  and  cure  pneumonia.  Yet 
these  three  sets  of  transmissible  diseases  are  responsi- 
ble for  47%  of  the  deaths  from  preventable  causes. 

Every  woman's  club  should  have  a  committee  on 
"health  department  efficiency,"  to  begin  as  follows: 

Take  one  skeleton  map  of  the  city  for  each  catching 

disease 
Go  over  the  records  of  cases  notified  and  stick  a  red 


186     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

pin  at  the  proper  point  in  the  map  for  every  case 
reported 

Go  over  the  death  record  and  stick  a  black  pin  in 
the  right  place  for  every  death  reported 

Show  these  maps  to  the  health  officers  and  persuade 
them  to  start  making  a  similar  map  from  cases 
and  deaths  currently  reported.  After  noting 
that  pins  cluster  in  certain  sections  of  the  city, 
find  out  what  steps  the  health  department  is 
taking  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  similar  clus- 
ters next  year 

If  the  cause  is  inefficiency,  make  over  the  incompe- 
tents or  dismiss  them.  If  the  cause  is  lack  of 
funds,  help  the  department  get  adequate  funds 
to  employ  enough  efficient  inspectors  and  physi- 
cians 

No  child  should  be  compelled  to  go  to  school  if 
that  means  compelling  him  to  have  one  "  catching 
disease  "  after  another  during  his  school  life.  Hence 
the  need  for  a  school  physician  to  detect  and  exclude 
transmissible  diseases,  to  say  when  the  child  may 
safely  be  returned  to  school,  to  see  that  when  out 
of  school  the  child  is  not  spreading  contagion  and 
to  detect  and  treat  physical  conditions  that  foster 
transmissible  diseases. 

Other  people  die  besides  babies  and  children. 
While  not  relaxing  one  iota  your  interest  in  child 
saving  work,  do  not  forget  your  chief  reason  for 
being  interested  in  the  child  is  that  you  shall  pro- 
duce a  man  or  a  woman.  Dr.  Wm.  H.  Guilfoy, 
statistician  of  the  New  York  department  of  health 
recently  said : 


COST  OF  CATCHING  DISEASES      187 

The  rungs  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder  of  life 
are  being  carefully  looked  after,  those  at  the  mid- 
dle of  the  ladder  have  been  neglected ;  the  physi- 
cal welfare  of  the  man  has  been  lost  sight  of  in 
the  multitudes  of  attempts  at  prolongation  and 
treatment  of  the  physical  properties  of  the 
child. 

To  find  what  "  catching  diseases  "  are  costing  your 
city  or  state  for  lives  lost  alone,  get  from  your  de- 
partment of  health  the  number  of  deaths  by  ages. 
Allow  $1500  for  infants;  $2500  for  school  children; 
$7000  for  those  between  25  and  40.  To  this  total 
add  the  cost  of  burials  computed  from  the  average 
cost  in  your  community. 

To  these  two  sums  add  at  least  $10  per  case  for 
the  total  number  of  cases  of  preventable  diseases. 

Large  as  the  combined  total  will  be,  it  will  be 
an  underestimate  of  what  transmissible  diseases  are 
costing  your  community,  for  it  will  not  take  ac- 
count of  loss  in  wages,  loss  in  working  efficiency  of 
those  who  are  sick  and  those  who  care  for  them,  loss 
in  teacher's  services  on  account  of  children  excluded 
from  school  and  of  time  lost  from  school. 

Do  not  try  to  learn  all  about  "  catching  diseases," 
but  learn  enough  to  know  whether  your  physician 
knows  about  them.  When  you  want  to  begin  to  do 
something,  work  through  your  local  and  state  health 
departments.  Ask  them  for  information  and  keep 
asking  until  you  get  it.  Learn  how  you  can  help 
them  to  be  more  efficient.  Support  them  when  they 
are  asking  for  funds.  Insist  upon  their  telling  week 


188     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

by  week  the  truth  about  cases  of  preventable  "  catch- 
ing diseases." 

Do  your  physicians  feel  that  "  catching  diseases  " 
are  their  best  friends? 

Do  they  try  to  strengthen  or  weaken  the  health 
board  ? 

Do  they  obey  the  rule  about  notifying  cases  of 
transmissible  diseases,  such  as  diphtheria,  scarlet 
fever,  tuberculosis,  typhoid? 

Does  anybody  look  to  the  milk  supply  for  the  cause 
of  typhoid,  scarlet  fever  or  diphtheria? 

Does  your  drinking  water  come  from  almost  the 
same  part  of  the  river  or  lake  as  that  which  re- 
ceives your  sewage? 

Does  your  health  department  welcome  questions  and 
support? 

Have  you  been  taking  it  for  granted  that  children 
must  have  the  "  catching  diseases,"  the  earlier 
the  better? 

Are  your  school  children  regularly  inspected  for 
signs  of  transmissible  diseases,  including  trans- 
missible skin  and  eye  diseases? 

Do  you  know  that  cats  and  dogs  can  carry  around 
with  them  the  germs  of  diphtheria  and  other 
transmissible  diseases? 

Does  your  family  doctor  wear  a  "  conspicuous  mi- 
crobe trap  "  on  his  face,  i.  e.,  "  a  preposterous, 
fuzzy  bunch  of  whiskers  inhabited  by  millions  of 
microbes  ?  " 

To  learn  how  a  national  bureau  of  health  would 
help  reduce  transmissible  diseases  and  increase  the 
efficiency  of  health  departments  wherever  the  stars 
and  stripes  fly,  ask  your  senator  or  congressman  to 


NATIONAL  HEALTH  BUREAU       189 

get  you  a  copy  of  Senator  Owen's  speech  of  March 
24th,  1910. 

Insuring  Clean  Water 

Ballots  do  not  discover  disease-bearing  water. 

The  strongest  reason  against  polluted  water  is 
not  that  it  encourages  typhoid  fever,  but  that  it 
is  polluted.  It  ought  to  be  intolerable  to  any  well 
bred  person  that  drinking  water  or  oysters  are  taken 
from  rivers  or  bays  or  wells  into  which  sewage  pours. 

The  mosquito  is  proving  to  be  almost  as  good  an 
enemy  of  polluted  water  as  typhoid.  Fortunately, 
most  people  hate  mosquitoes  enough  to  be  willing  to 
take  steps  against  stagnant  pools,  unclean  cisterns, 
unclean  swamps  and  yards. 

Whether  water  sources  are  clean  or  foul  is  not  a 
matter  of  voting  or  law  making,  but  a  matter  of 
fact  to  be  determined  by  the  appearance  and  analysis 
of  the  water.  Whether  anybody  is  making  the  analy- 
sis can  easily  be  found  upon  inquiry. 

Nowhere  is  greater  disregard  shown  for  the  foul- 
ness of  water  sources  than  in  country  districts  where 
man  lives  close  to  nature.  Country  wells  are  dis- 
gustingly near  barnyards  and  privies.  Country 
rivers  receive  every  kind  of  disgusting  filth. 

Public  and  private  libraries  should  have  such  books 
as  Typhoid  Fever  by  George  C.  Whipple,  and  Prin- 
ciples of  Sanitary  Science  and  the  Public  Health  by 
William  T.  Sedgwick,  and  the  reports  of  your  state 
board  of  health  or  state  commissions  of  water  sup- 
plies. 


190     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

There  is  now  a  National  Association  for  Prevent- 
ing the  Pollution  of  Rivers  and  Waterways,  New 
York  City,  which  will  tell  you  about  work  done  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  about  filtration  plants,  how 
to  compel  factories  to  purify  their  waste  water  and 
sewage,  how  to  prevent  one  city  from  defiling  com- 
mon streams,  how  to  patrol  water  sheds  and  how  to 
administer  clean  water  supplies. 

Insuring  Clean  Milk 

Voting  will  not  insure  clean  milk. 

Long  after  model  laws  have  been  passed,  model 
dairies  established  and  model  men  put  in  charge, 
milk  will  be  unclean  unless  day  by  day  routine  ad- 
ministration of  the  health  department  is  efficient. 

There  is  almost  no  limit  to  the  barnyard  filth  that 
a  baby  can  safely  consume  with  its  milk  if  it  gets 
the  milk  within  an  hour  after  milking.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  the  injurious  germs  that  go  with  filth 
into  milk  have  not  the  time  to  develop  before  the  baby 
is  asked  to  digest  them. 

On  the  other  hand  no  degree  of  cleanliness  in  trans- 
porting milk  uniced,  or  in  caring  for  it  uniced  at 
the  milk  shop  and  in  the  home,  will  undo  the  harm 
done  by  neglect  when  milking,  if  a  period  of  thirty 
hours  or  more  has  intervened  between  milking  the  cow 
and  feeding  raw  milk  to  the  baby. 

It  takes  whole  books  to  tell  what  one  ought  to 
know  about  clean  milk.  More  of  these  books  will  be 
written  within  the  next  twelve  months  than  during 
the  twelve  preceding  years  because  the  whole  country 


INSURING  CLEAN  MILK  191 

is  now  alive  to  the  dangers  of  unclean  milk.  Those 
who  want  exhaustive  information  should  write  to  the 
United  States  Surgeon  General  and  secure  a  book 
called  Milk  and  Its  Relation  to  Public  Health.  To 
find  what  different  cities  are  doing  to  keep  their  milk 
clean  write  to  The  Survey,  New  York  City. 

The  New  York  Milk  Committee  has  proceedings 
of  two  conferences  on  milk, —  one  in  1906  and  one  in 
December,  1910.  At  the  second  conference  men  of 
national  and  international  reputation  discussed  the 
following  topics : 

Why  Facts  Should  Accompany  Requests  for  Funds;  The 
Future  of  the  Milk  Supply  from  the  Producer's 
Standpoint;  The  Transportation  and  Care  of  Milk 
by  Railroad  Companies;  Some  Essentials  for  the 
Solution  of  the  City  Milk  Problem  not  Sufficiently 
Considered;  The  Milk  Problem  in  America  To-day; 
The  Relation  of  the  Purity  of  Milk  Products  to 
the  Public  Health;  The  Bearing  of  Communicable 
Diseases  on  the  Control  of  Public  Milk  Supplies; 
Bacterial  Contamination  of  Milk  as  a  Cause  of 
Disease;  The  Real  Need  for  Pasteurization;  Milk 
Supplies  of  Villages. 

The  Present  Method  of  Sanitary  Control  of  New  York's 
Milk  Supply  With  Suggested  Plan  for  Improve- 
ment; Usefulness  of  Milk  Standards  and  Limita- 
tions; The  Sanitary  Side  of  the  Milk  Question; 
The  Utility  of  Laboratory  Milk  Standards;  The 
Milk  Supply  of  Connecticut;  Standards  of  Milk 
Utensils;  Milk  Standards  and  How  to  Enforce 
Them;  State  Regulation  of  Milk  Prices;  The  Pres- 
ent System  of  Milk  Control;  The  Necessity  of  a 
Congress  for  the  Improvement  of  the  National  Milk 
Supply. 


192     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Minimum  Tests  for  Milk 

A  few  simple  points  need  to  be  remembered  by 
those  who  cannot  go  into  the  subject  scientifically. 

1.  A  nursing  baby  may  get  unclean  milk  if  the 
baby's    mouth   is    not    kept    clean    and    if   the 
mother's  breast  is  not  kept  clean 

2.  No  amount  of  cleanliness  at  the  dairy,  creamery 
or  milk  shop  can  make  milk  safe  if  the  home 
utensils,  the  bottle  or  nipples  are  not  clean 

3.  It  is  impossible  to  keep  milk  clean  when   sold 
in  bulk  and  opened  frequently  in  a  store,  dipped 
out  by   a  dripping  hand  just  taken  from   the 
prune  box,  unclean  coat,  shaking  hands,  etc. 

4.  No   milk  should  be  sold  for  babies   except   in 
bottles  marked  Baby  Milk 

5.  It  should  be  unlawful  to  have  milk  for  sale  at  a 
temperature  above  fifty  degrees 

6.  Creameries    where    milk    is    mixed    and    shops 
where  milk  is  sold  should  be  clean 

7.  Every  dairy  in  every  state  should  have  its  in- 
dividual score  card  as  should  other  places  that 
sell  milk 

8.  The  scoring  of  these  places  where  milk  is  pro- 
duced and  sold  should  be  published  so  that  every 
one  may  know  how  safe  his  milk  supply  is,  as 
is  done  in  Montclair,  N.  J. 

9.  Frequent  chemical  tests  should  be  made  of  milk 
to  see  whether  it  is  unclean  or  clean 

10.  Frequent  bacteriological  tests  should  be  made 
of  milk  to  see  whether  it  has  disease  germs;  no 
milk  is  safe  even  for  pasteurization  which  has 
more  than  100,000  bacteria  per  cubic  centimeter 
before  or  more  than  10,000  after  pasteurization 

11.  Unless  reports  of  milk  inspectors  are  carefully 


MINIMUM  TESTS  FOR  MILK        193 

scrutinized  by  their  superior  officers  and  are 
studied  by  the  public,  inspection  itself  will  be 
careless  and  unclean  milk  tolerated 

12.  Laws  regarding  clean  milk  will  not  be  enforced 
if  courts  fail  to  punish  those  violating  the  milk 
law 

13.  Wholesalers  generally  pay  the  fines  of  retailers 
arrested  for  selling  unclean  or  adulterated  milk 

14.  Claims  that  clean  milk  cost  fifteen  or  twenty 
cents  a  quart  should  not  be  believed  until  better 
evidence  is  given  than  is  usually  given  by  those 
who  wish  to  charge  these  prices  and  to  oppose 
milk  laws 

15.  Skimmed  milk  is  not  necessarily  less  clean  or 
less  nourishing  because  it  has  been  skimmed,  but 
skimmed  milk   should  never  be  sold  without  a 
label  clearly  stating  that  it  is  skimmed  milk 

16.  Pasteurization  is  being  "  accelerated  "  by  in- 
terests   wishing   to   sell   both   pasteurizers    and 
milk  otherwise  unfit  for  consumption 

17.  Pasteurization   does   not  protect   against   un- 
•    cleanliness  and  infection  after  pasteurizing 

18.  For  information  as  to  how  compulsory  pas- 
teurization works  and  how  much  it  costs,  how  it 
can  be  done  on  a  small  scale  and  how  safely  done 
on  a  large  scale,  the  best  present  source  of  in- 
formation is  the  Chicago  department  of  health 

Interesting  the  Grocer  in  Clean  Milk 

There  are  few  ways  in  which  the  individual  citizen 
can  be  of  greater  service  to  her  neighbor  than  in 
making  sure  that  the  community  milk  supply  is 
clean.  Our  grocers  are  our  neighbors  and  cannot 
refuse  to  have  the  facts  known  regarding  precau- 
tions taken  to  protect  the  lives  of  their  neighbors' 


194     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

babies.  Nor  will  they  refuse  to  cooperate  with  those 
who  may  wish  to  interest  them  in  the  crusade  for 
clean  milk. 

Teaching  Mothers  How  to  Keep  Milk  Clean 

The  most  comprehensive  tests  of  instruction  of 
mothers  at  milk  stations  and  by  house  to  house 
visiting  by  nurses  and  physicians  will  be  made  in 
the  summer  of  1911  by  New  York  City's  department 
of  health  cooperating  with  the  New  York  Milk  Com- 
mittee, the  Brooklyn  Children's  Aid  Society  and 
other  agencies  having  milk  stations  and  diet  kitchens. 
Careful  statistical  record  will  be  kept  with  regard  to 
keeping  milk  clean  and  to  saving  babies.  Never 
before  was  so  much  undertaken. 

In  addition  to  $40,000  spent  by  the  city  on  fifteen 
new  milk  stations  the  New  York  Milk  Committee  has 
tried  to  raise  $150,000  to  make  sure  that  every  single 
district  in  Manhattan  shall  have  the  benefit  of  the 
latest  method  of  insuring  clean  milk  and  informing 
mothers. 

Do  you  know  what  a  lactometer  is  for  testing  pres- 
ence of  water  in  milk? 

Have  you  ever  used  one? 

Have  you  ever  had  samples  of  milk  bought  for  your 
own  house  analyzed  by  a  chemist  to  see  that  it 
had  no  less  than  \Z%  of  solids  with  3.25%  of 
fats? 

Have  you  ever  had  bacteriological  tests  to  discover 
the  presence  of  diseased  germs,  and  to  reject  all 
milk  with  over  100,000  bacteria  per  cubic  centi- 
meter? 


MILK  «  SCORES  "  195 

Is  it  anybody's  business  in  your  city  to  keep  watch 
over  the  purity  of  the  milk  supply? 

Is  your  state  board  of  health  shifting  all  responsi- 
bility for  clean  milk  to  city  departments  of 
health? 

Can  tuberculous  cattle  be  used  in  your  state? 

Are  tests  made  of  all  dairies  ? 

What  proportion  of  your  children  have  the  bene- 
fit of  so-called  certified  milk,  known  to  be  pro- 
duced under  sanitary  conditions? 

How  far  is  your  baby  from  your  milk  supply  ? 

Can  you  see  how  breast-fed  babies  may  get  unclean 
milk  ? 

Do  people  in  your  community  take  it  for  granted 
that  pasteurized  milk  will  stay  clean  even  if  ex- 
posed to  unclean  air  or  poured  into  unclean  bot- 
tles? 

Have  your  women's  clubs  ever  helped  the  depart- 
ment of  health  secure  funds  in  its  budget  for  in- 
specting milkshops  or  for  instructing  mothers  in 
the  care  of  milk? 

Do  your  courts  consider  the  sale  of  unclean  milk 
a  minor  offense? 

Has  anybody  ever  made  a  statement  showing  for 
the  whole  year  how  violations  of  the  milk  law 
are  treated  by  your  courts? 

Score  Card  the  Test  of  Clean  Milk 

If  you  want  to  make  the  kind  of  test  of  your  local 
dairies  that  is  being  made  by  Montclair,  N.  J.,  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  New  York  City  and  others,  write  to  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  for 
"milk  score  cards."  You  can  easily  interest  your 
health  officers  in  scoring  all  dairies  that  supply  your 
city.  If  you  live  in  a  small  town  or  in  the  country 


196     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

you  can  easily  score  nearby  dairies  or  your  own  farm 
or  milk  shop.  This  score  card  is  important  as  a 
means  of  giving  defects  their  proper  proportion.  It 
shows  66  different  elements  that  ought  to  be  kept 
in  mind  at  the  dairy:  30  relating  to  stable,  two  to 
cow-yard,  nine  to  cows,  10  to  milkers  and  milking, 
four  to  utensils,  seven  to  milk  house  and  four  to  water 
supply.  There  is  a  similar  division  for  milk  shops. 

Reports  of  milk  inspections  should  be  so  specific 
as  to  tell  how  serious  defective  conditions  were  and 
where.  It  does  no  good  to  have  the  report  for  the 
summer  of  1909  published  sometime  in  1911  as  will 
be  the  case  in  New  York.  Every  town  ought  to 
know  specifically  just  which  dairies  will  particularly 
need  inspection  during  the  hot  summer  days.  The 
reports  of  work  done  by  the  department  should  show 
not  merely  how  many  dairies  had  conditions  contrary 
to  law  (such  as  ice  boxes  badly  drained,  ice  boxes 
unclean,  stores  unclean,  utensils  unclean,  milk  not 
properly  cooled),  but  action  taken  such  as  destruc- 
tion of  milk,  the  notices  issued  to  dealers  to  drain  and 
clean  their  ice  boxes,  to  clean  stores,  etc.,  notices 
complied  with,  criminal  actions  begun  against  the 
dealers  for  selling  adulterated  milk  or  for  selling 
without  permit,  etc.,  plus  the  result  of  such  actions. 

Having  milk  inspectors  does  not  mean  milk  inspec- 
tion and  will  not  mean  protection  of  milk  supply 
unless  the  public  compares  work  needed  with  work 
done. 


STATES  SHOULD  INSPECT  DAIRIES     197 

State's  Responsibility  for  Clean  Milk 
States,  through  their  departments  of  health  and 
divisions  of  dairy  inspection,  should  see  to  it  that 
no  matter  how  far  from  a  city  a  dairy  may  be,  it 
must  be  kept  clean.  It  is  not  fair  to  the  small  cities 
in  a  state  for  one  or  two  large  cities  to  assume  a 
fractional  part  of  the  responsibility  for  inspecting 
dairies,  thus  encouraging  the  state  to  evade  its  re- 
sponsibility for  inspecting  all  dairies. 

Keeping  Babies  Alive 

Voting  will  not  keep  babies  alive. 

Few  duties  of  government  are  so  inefficiently  dis- 
charged as  woman's  duty  to  give  babies  good  health 
and  to  keep  them  in  good  health. 

One  baby  out  of  six  or  seven  in  poorer  districts 
will  die.  In  the  districts  able  to  pay  for  pure  milk, 
trained  nurses  and  efficient  medical  care  practically 
all  babies  14%5o  will  survive  to  the  second  year. 
No  better  index  will  ever  be  found  of  a  community's 
intelligence  and  its  conscience  than  its  success  in 
keeping  its  babies  alive.  In  the  civilized  world,  ex- 
cluding China,  3,500,000  children  will  die  this  year 
under  one  year  of  age;  76  per  1,000  births  in  New 
Zealand,  153  in  Japan,  161  in  Italy,  165  in  the 
United  States,  197  in  the  German  Empire,  263  in 
Russia,  326  in  Chili. 

A  mother's  first  duty  is  to  learn  how  to  keep  her 
own  baby  alive  and  her  second  duty  is  to  see  that 


198     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

other  mothers  in  her  community  learn  how  to  keep 
their  babies  alive. 

How  many  babies  are  born  in  your  city  or  state 
each  year? 

How  many  die  before  reaching  the  first  birthday? 

Did  you  know  that  the  critical  time  is  the  first  three 
months? 

Who  is  paying  any  attention  to  this  subject  in 
your  city? 

Are  they  working  with  the  board  of  health? 

Are  they  working  all  the  year  around? 

Have  you  ever  contributed  to  this  work? 

When  do  you  hear  most  about  it;  in  the  winter 
time  when  they  are  raising  money  or  in  the  sum- 
mer time  when  babies  are  dying? 

What  does  it  cost  to  bury  a  baby? 

What  does  it  cost  to  save  a  baby? 

Is  anybody  besides  the  undertaker,  i.  e.,  the  milk 
man  or  the  owner  of  unsanitary  tenements,  mak- 
ing money  out  of  infant  mortality  in  your  city 
or  conditions  encouraging  it? 

Could  you,  without  further  instruction,  care  for  a 
sick  baby? 

Is  milk  sold  in  bulk  or  in  bottles? 

Is  your  milk  delivered  at  a  temperature  above  fifty 
degrees  ? 

Is  there  a  law  in  your  state  compelling  milk  to  be 
kept  below  fifty  degrees? 

Is  it  practical  for  the  poor  of  your  neighborhood 
to  have  ice? 

Are  mid-wives  supervised  in  your  community? 

Do  you  know  what  chance  a  baby  has  to  live  if 
placed  in  an  orphan  or  foundling  asylum? 

Is  anybody  trying  to  persuade  mothers  to  nurse 


KEEPING  BABIES  ALIVE  199 

their  babies  instead  of  feeding  them  from  the 

bottle? 
Do  you  know  that  breast-fed  babies  are  far  less 

apt  to  be  sick  or  die? 
Is  the  placing  out  of  infants  in  homes  properly 

supervised  by  your  state  board  of  health? 
Do  you  see  the  futility  of  trying  to  keep  babies 

alive  if  mothers  themselves  are  under-nourished 

and  too  weak  to  care? 
Are  baby  farms  permitted  or  prohibited  in  your 

state? 

If  experience  has  proved  anything,  it  is  that 
there  is  no  way  known  to  man  by  which  unintelligent 
care  will  keep  babies  alive,  excepting  the  one  baby 
in  three  which  apparently  will  live  in  spite  of  the 
worst  neglect  that  ignorance  seems  capable  of.  Un- 
clean milk  will  poison,  unclean  milk  receptacles  will 
poison,  unclean  bodies  will  poison,  unclean  air  will 
poison.  Any  remedy  for  infant  mortality  which 
tries  to  make  uncleanliness  safe  is  certain  to  fail. 

You  cannot  vote  air  clean.  You  cannot  vote 
mothers  intelligent.  You  cannot  compel  mothers  to 
become  intelligent.  But  you  can  conduct  an  educa- 
tional campaign  that  will  make  it  hard  for  mothers 
to  be  unintelligent  and  gradually  make  it  easy  for 
everybody  to  know  what  saves  babies  and  what  de- 
stroys them. 

You  can  even  put  the  pacifier  out  of  business 
by  showing  mothers  that  it  causes  more  crime  and 
trouble  than  it  prevents.  Learn  and  pass  on  to 
others  "  The  Aggravating  Pacifier  ": 


200     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Baby  cries, 

Nurse  unwise 

Rubber  nipple  pacifies. 

No  more  riot 

Baby  quiet 

Quite  content  with  rubber  diet 

Hearts  like  lead 

News  is  spread 

Baby  pacified  —  and  dead ! 

Fractional  interest  in  a  fraction  of  the  babies  a 
fraction  of  the  time  is  a  disease  to  run  away  from, 
but  it  generally  comes  with  the  summer  exodus  of 
life  savers  so  at  the  very  time  when  need  is  most 
urgent  "  everybody  is  away." 

Babies  cannot  be  saved  by  parlor  talks,  club  meet- 
ings and  conferences  on  baby  saving. 

Again  there  is  a  wide  belief  that  it  is  better  for 
babies  of  the  very  poor  to  die  than  to  live.  I  have 
heard  it  expressed  by  men  and  women  who  give  their 
best  thought  to  private  philanthropy.  There  are 
three  answers  to  this  pessimistic  philosophy:  1. 
They  do  not  know  the  happiness  of  the  so-called 
poor  mother  or  the  wretchedness  that  a  death  brings ; 
2.  "  You  cannot  run  the  world  that  way  " ;  3.  Only 
by  working  and  fighting  for  the  apparently  hopeless 
can  we  do  our  duty  by  the  seemingly  hopeful. 

"The  trail  of  the  little  white  hearse"  should  be 
marked  out  for  every  city  on  a  pin  map  showing 
each  house  where  an  infant  died.  This  is  a  short 
cut  to  a  clear  story  of  unsanitary  conditions,  unin- 
formed or  ignorant  mothers,  and  ill-adjusted  eco- 
nomic conditions. 


OFFICIAL  BABY  SAVING  201 

The  mother  who  does  not  worry  when  her  baby 
is  sick  because  she  has  had  eighteen,  as  we  found 
last  summer  in  Hoboken,  is  not  heartless  and  does 
not  fail  to  miss  her  baby.  She  simply  has  a  wrong 
conception  of  Providence. 

Saving  Babies  Through  Official  Agencies 
While  scores  of  books  have  been  written  about 
keeping  babies  alive  it  has  received  too  little  atten- 
tion from  government.  Private  charities  cannot 
do  the  work.  The  only  agency  that  can  do  all  that 
needs  to  be  done  is  the  department  of  health.  How 
much  it  knows  and  whether  it  acts  up  to  its  knowl- 
edge is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  learn  at  first. 
Do  not  be  contented  with  what  private  charity  de- 
mands or  with  educational  meetings.  Be  sure  the  best 
arrangements  have  been  made  for  the  best  work  by 
your  community  to  be  done  at  the  time  of  greatest 
danger  during  the  summer  months.  Make  private 
effort  supplement,  not  supplant  government  effort. 

"Won't  you  move  a  little  faster?"  said  the  baby  to  the  state, 
*'  I  keep  right  on  a-dying,  and  it's  getting  pretty  late ; 
All  sorts  of  folks  are  working  hard  to  give  me  half  a  chance 
But  their  work  is  worse  than  wasted  until  you  join  the  dance. 
Will  you,  won't  you,  won't  you,  will  you,  will  you  join  th? 

dance  ? 
Won't  you,  will  you,  will  you,  won't  you,  won't  you  join  the 

dance? 

"  For  a  hundred  folks  are  working,  each  one  shouting  his  own 

praise, 

And  they  overlap  and  underlap  a  hundred  different  ways, 
They  need  some  organizing,  you  can  see  that  at  a  glance; 
And  you're  the  one  to  do  it,— so  why  don't  you  join  the  dance 
Will  you,  won't -you,  won't  you,  will  you,  will  you  join  the 

dance? 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Won't  you,  will  you,  will  you,  won't  you,  won't  you  join  the 
dance? 

"  An  inefficient  government  can  make  more  babies  ill 
Than  all  the  private  charities  can  cure  or  ever  will; 
YOU'RE  the  only  one  can  keep  them  well  from  cradle  up  to 

pants, 

It's  up  to  you !  you'd  do  it  too,  if  you'd  only  join  the  dance. 
Will  you,  won't  you,  won't  you,  will  you,  will  you  join  the 

dance? 
Won't  you,  will  you,  will  you,  won't  you,  won't  you  join  the 

dance? " 

Health  departments  should  instruct  not  only  by 
pamphlets,  but  by  word  of  mouth  from  mother  to 
mother,  house  to  house  visits  by  nurses,  by  stories  told 
through  the  press. 

Two  years  ago  a  story  appeared  in  the  New 
York  newspapers,  "  What  is  the  Matter  with 
Brooklyn?"  pointing  out  that  more  babies  were 
dying  in  proportion  to  the  population  in  Brooklyn 
than  Manhattan.  A  Brooklyn  paper  printed  an 
attack  "  upon  those  who  would  slander  Brooklyn." 
The  next  morning  the  college  girl  who  wrote  the  story 
for  the  Manhattan  paper  came  to  my  office  and  said 
I  must  give  her  more  facts  about  baby  deaths  in 
Brooklyn.  I  asked  why  and  she  said :  "  I  went 
home  last  night  and  asked  father  who  wrote  that 
editorial  in  the  Brooklyn  paper.  He  said  he  had 
written  it."  She  had  then  told  him,  "  You  will  have 
to  take  it  back  because  I  wrote  that  Manhattan  story 
and  it  is  true."  As  the  outcome  of  this  domestic 
competition  the  father  was  compelled  by  facts  to 
yield  and  began  writing  editorials  to  interest  the  peo- 
ple of  Brooklyn  in  doing  their  own  part  and  in  get- 


PUBLICITY  SAVES  BABIES          203 

ting  the  health  department  to  do  its  part  in  saving 
its  babies. 

In  the  summer  of  1910  New  York  City's  death 
rate  jumped  up  early  in  June.  By  the  end  of  June 
newspapers  day  after  day  were  announcing  heavy 
mortality  and  prophesying  continued  mortality  be- 
cause of  continued  torrid  weather.  "  Everybody 
was  away."  Even  the  supervisors  of  the  health  de- 
partment were  away. 

But  the  newspapers  were  not  away  and  there  was 
no  reason  why  the  community  should  have  been  led 
to  believe  that  of  course  babies  must  die  because  it 
was  hot.  When  the  newspapers  changed,  the  public 
changed  and  fewer  babies  died.  For  example,  one 
story  told  that  in  the  baby  clinic  at  The  Nurses' 
Settlement  not  one  baby  had  died  from  intestinal 
diseases  among  eighty-five  very  sick,  undersized, 
near-to-death  babies.  The  newspapers  with  largest 
circulation  —  The  Evening  World  and  Evening1 
Journal — 'printed  special  stories  each  day,  several 
of  them  over  the  signatures  of  the  commissioner  of 
health  and  leading  baby  specialists.  The  public 
came  to  see  that  not  only  could  babies  be  saved,  but 
it  was  a  disgrace  to  have  them  dying  at  the  rate  which 
obtained  late  in  June. 

Some  Tests  of  Success  in  Saving  Babies 
Get  in  touch  with  the  head  of  your  local  health 
department   and    see   whether   he   knows   where   the 
babies   are,  what  the  milk  conditions  are  and  what 


204     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

he  is  doing  to  see  that  there  are  clean  milk,  clean 
babies  and  informed  mothers. 

Because  he  is  spending  money  it  need  not  follow 
that  he  is  saving  babies. 

Do  not  let  him  claim  credit  for  reducing  mortality 
when  weather  conditions  are  favorable  and  then 
blame  the  weather  when  deaths  increase. 

Do  not  forget  either  that  the  test  of  efficiency  in, 
health  work  is  reduction  in  sickness,  not  merely  re- 
duction in  mortality.  To  keep  a  baby  alive  but 
so  weak  as  later  to  be  easy  prey  to  measles  or 
scarlet  fever  is  not  much  better  than  to  let  it  die. 

Write  to  the  secretary  of  your  state  board  of 
health,  who  is  sure  to  know  the  latest  experiments 
and  practices  in  saving  babies.  You  do  not  need  to 
know  his  name,  and  he  always  has  headquarters  at 
the  state  capitol. 

Ask  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Census  at  Wash- 
ington for  a  pamphlet  of  fifteen  pages  dealing  with 
the  causes  of  infant  mortality  and  prepared  for  the 
American  Association  for  the  Prevention  of  Infant 
Mortality.  (Headquarters,  Baltimore,  Md.) 

Homes  vs.  Hospitals  as  Baby  Savers 

At  New  York  City's  budget  exhibit  there  was  a 
large  pin  map,  already  referred  to,  showing  just 
where  babies  had  died  during  the  summer.  Large 
patches  of  blue  pins  showed  deaths  in  hospitals  and 
foundling  asylums.  Babies  die  in  hospitals  partly 
because  they  go  there  too  late  and  partly  because 
babies  cannot  be  saved  on  the  congregate  plan. 


HELPING  EXPECTANT  MOTHERS     205 

Write  to  The  Survey,  New  York  City,  for  informa- 
tion about  the  Speedwell  Society  which  puts  babies 
in  country  or  suburban  homes  instead  of  in  hos- 
pitals, having  itinerant  nurses  and  physicians  who 
both  tend  to  the  baby  and  instruct  an  ever-increas- 
ing number  of  mothers  and  housewives  how  to  save 
other  mother's  babies. 

Write  to  the  State  Charities  Aid  Association,  New 
York  City,  for  the  story  of  institution  babies  saved 
by  placing  them  in  properly  supervised  homes,  thus 
reducing  the  number  of  deaths  from  96%  to  less 
than  12%,  or  to  that  point  where  to-day  a  foundling 
or  deserted  baby  in  New  York  City  stands  a  better 
chance  of  living  to  its  second  year  than  a  tenement 
baby  born  into  a  loving  home. 

Caroline  Rest  School  for  Expectant  Mothers 

One  of  the  most  interesting  efforts  to  teach 
mothers  how  to  save  their  own  babies  is  Caroline  Rest 
at  Hartsdale,  N.  Y.  It  was  founded  and  endowed 
in  memory  of  his  mother  by  a  retired  merchant  and 
bachelor.  It  takes  about  eighty  mothers  just  after 
leaving  maternity  wards  of  hospitals  or  while  con- 
valescing at  home  and  gives  them  two  weeks  or  more 
of  country  air  and  beautiful  surroundings,  plus  in- 
struction to  give  them  strength  for  home  duties  and 
the  necessary  skill  in  saving  their  own  babies.  In 
addition,  nurses  are  sent  to  expectant  mothers  so  that 
the  training  begins  in  time  to  affect  the  mother's 
strength  and  the  first  days  of  the  baby's  life.  Beau- 


206     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

tifully  illustrated  pamphlets  of  educational  character 
can  be  obtained  by  writing  to  Caroline  Rest,  Harts- 
dale,  N.  Y. 

Insuring  Pure  Foods 

Voting  will  not  detect  impure  foods. 

It  is  good  for  public  morals  to  reflect  that  the  only 
foods  in  which  New  York  City's  rotten  eggs  could 
be  profitably  used  were  angel  food  and  lady  fingers. 

After  laws  have  prohibited  the  sale  of  impure  foods 
traffic  in  impurities  will  thrive  unless  there  is  effi- 
cient and  continuous  inspection.  Baking  powder  will 
be  adulterated  with  ground  rock ;  vinegar  will  be  com- 
pounded of  dilute  acetic  acid  colored  with  burnt 
sugar;  pure  maple  syrup  from  Canada  sap  will  have 
only  ten  per  cent,  of  maple ;  coffee  will  be  made  from 
wheat  middlings;  and  castor  oil  pills  without  any 
castor  oil. 

The  advertisement  of  foods  in  public  papers  and 
magazines  and  on  billboards  can  be  studied  and  com- 
pared with  the  articles  actually  sold.  State  health  de- 
partments and  the  national  bureau  of  food  and  drug 
inspection  will  inspect  and  report  whether  foods  are 
honestly  advertised.  Laws  should  be  secured  and  en- 
forced which  prohibit  the  telling  of  untruths  in  con- 
nection with  foods  or  medicines. 

Where  condemned  foods  go  is  also  important.  Ob- 
viously it  does  no  good  to  have  vegetables  or  fruits 
condemned  on  the  north  side  of  a  dock  and  then,  in 
exchange  for  a  bribe,  admitted  on  the  south  side  as 
safe. 


PURE  FOODS  AND  DRUGS     207 

Is  there  regular  inspection  of  food  by  your  state 
or  by  your  city  health  department? 

Do  you  know  how  many  inspectors  there  arc  in 
your  city  or  state? 

Are  there  any  women  inspectors? 

Have  the  inspectors  other  work  to  do? 

Do  the  courts  inflict  heavy  penalties  or  merely  rep- 
rimands for  violating  food  laws? 

Are  quarterly  reports  made  to  the  public? 

Do  the  newspapers  print  these  reports? 

Do  the  reports  show  how  many  violations  were  dis- 
covered, where,  in  whose  shops,  and  what  was 
done  about  them? 

What  interest  have  the  women  of  your  city  taken 
in  food  inspection? 

Is  your  milk  supply  better  inspected  than  other 
foods  ? 


Insuring  Pure  Drugs 

Voting  will  not  detect  impure  drugs. 

Can  you  think  of  a  more  criminal  act  than  manu- 
facturing adulterated  and  impure  drugs? 

The  campaign  against  impure  drugs  in  New  York 
was  started  after  Dr.  Herman  M.  Biggs  discovered 
(in  time)  that  a  drug  given  to  a  private  patient  as  a 
last  hope  to  save  the  patient's  life  was  without  power 
and  a  fraud. 

Almost  worse  than  making  impotent  drugs  is  put- 
ting vicious  drugs  like  cocaine  and  morphine  into  sup- 
posedly harmless  and  helpful  cures  for  headache,  in- 
digestion, insomnia,  etc. 

Regret  as  we  may  the  large  amounts  ignorantly 
spent  on  drugs,  and  hope  as  we  may  for  a  time  when 


208     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT, 

fresh  air,  clean  water,  natural  living,  rest  and  exer- 
cise will  drive  most  drugs  out  of  existence,  we  must 
be  fair  minded  enough  to  admit  that  if  we  buy  drugs 
we  are  entitled  to  protection  against  impurity  and 
fraud. 

A  good  place  to  start  in  your  community  is  with 
the  drugs  given  babies  and  children.  Your  health  of- 
ficer has  authority  to  test  these  and  other  drugs.  If 
he  does  not  make  regular  inspections,  write  to  the 
state  board  of  health  and  ask  it  to  make  inspections. 

Is  there  inspection  of  drugs  in  your  town? 

Do  you  know  patent  medicine  fiends? 

Do  you  know  total  abstainers  from  alcoholic  bever- 
ages who  are  addicted  to  patent  medicines  con- 
taining alcohol  or  morphine? 

Are  your  drug  stores  permitted  to  sell  cocaine 
snuff  to  children  or  adults? 

Are  there  physicians  who,  for  twenty-five  cents,  will 
sign  prescriptions  enabling  drug  fiends  to  secure 
drugs? 

Do  you  know  mothers  or  nurses  who  pacify  the 
baby  with  drug  frauds? 

The  Great  American  Fraud:  Patent  Medicines 

Voting  will  not  expose  patent  medicine  wrongs. 

Ethics  forbids  a  reputable  physician  or  dentist  from 
doing  educational  work  through  paid  advertisements. 
To  this  fact  is  largely  due  the  success  of  "  The  Great 
American  Fraud."  After  reading  the  Carnegie 
Foundation's  report  on  the  large  number  of  medical 
colleges  that  ought  to  be  abandoned  and  the  low 
standard  of  training  in  other  colleges  that  are  worth 


INEFFICIENT  MEDICAL  PRACTICE     209 

saving,  one  suspects  that  patent  medicines  ought  to 
be  called  not  the  but  another  great  American  fraud. 

The  fight  against  patent  medicine  frauds  has  been 
hampered  by  inefficient  medical  practice.  What  pri- 
vate medicine  fraud  could  disillusion  the  layman  more 
than  these  two  experiences? 

A  professional  man  had  a  sore  on  the  bottom 
of  his  foot.  Two  well-known  physicians  ad- 
vised him  to  go  to  an  orthopedic  specialist.  For 
eight  weeks  the  specialist  bandaged  his  foot 
first  daily  and  then  three  times  a  week  so  as  to 
raise  the  sore  from  contact  with  the  shoe,  until 
the  bandage  hurt  worse  than  the  sore.  Finally 
a  woman  hospital  superintendent  said,  "  I  wish 
you  would  go  to  a  good  old-fashioned  corn  doc- 
tor." He  went  to  a  chiropodist.  In  one  week 
the  wart  (which  had  been  steadily  growing  from 
self  infection  for  nearly  three  months)  was  en- 
tirely removed. 

A  woman  suffered  for  three  years  from 
"  sciatic  rheumatism,"  "  gas  on  the  stomach " 
and  "  nervous  prostration."  Her  trouble  was 
almost  anything  that  famous  specialists  could 
pronounce.  Each  remedy  was  less  effective  than 
the  last.  She  was  put  on  a  diet,  advised  to  lie 
in  bed  mornings  and  avoid  evening  parties  and 
particularly  to  avoid  work.  After  three  years 
of  constantly  losing  ground  a  wholesome,  prac- 
tical nurse  said:  "  If  you  won't  tell  the  doctor 
I  believe  I  can  do  something  for  you  which  will 
help  you."  She  employed  an  ancient  remedy  — 
irrigation  —  only  making  it  effective  instead  of 
futile,  and  the  problem  which  had  defied  medical 
skill  disappeared. 


210     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  way  out  is  not  to  discourage  advertising  by 
frauds,  but  to  compel  advertising  by  health  depart- 
ments, hospitals,  etc.,  of  the  proper  treatment  of  dis- 
eases, location  of  dispensaries,  right  methods  of  living, 
etc. 

The  truth  should  be  made  better  known  than 
frauds. 

Compare  the  money  spent  in  advertising  patent 
medicines  in  your  town  for  curing  tuberculosis, 
cancer,  asthma,  dyspepsia,  eye  troubles  and  sex  dis- 
eases with  the  money  spent  for  dispensary  or  other 
philanthropic  care  of  these  same  ailments.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  obvious  advertising  matter  look  for  read- 
ing notices,  i.  e.  advertising  matter  so  worded  as  to 
give  the  impression  of  a  news  item  or  editorial  com- 
ment, but  —  as  a  concession  to  ethics  —  branded  as  a 
biased,  partisan,  paid-for  statement  by  some  mark 
like  adv.  or  .*.  You  must  look  hard  for  these 
brands  for  they  will  be  as  small  as  possible. 

Cut  out  for  a  period  of  a  month  all  these  adver- 
tisements. You  can  learn  from  the  newspapers  the 
cost  of  advertising  per  inch.  At  the  end  of  the 
month  count  the  number  of  inches  for  each  cure; 
multiply  the  cost  per  inch  by  the  total  number  of 
inches,  thus  getting  the  total  outlay  by  those  who  ad- 
vertise. While  this  will  be  but  a  small  part  of  the 
money  spent  by  the  poor  on  these  remedies  you  will 
probably  find  that  the  cost  of  advertising  alone 
greatly  exceeds  the  amounts  given  by  private  phi- 
lanthropists to  cure  these  same  diseases. 

If  you  carry  the  test  on  for  a  year  you  will  have 


"  GREAT  AMERICAN  FRAUD  » 

a  story  certain  to  prove  interesting  to  some  news- 
paper or  magazine  in  your  state. 

A  crusade  against  frauds  under  the  heading  of 
this  chapter  was  conducted  in  Collier's  Weekly  which 
be  glad  to  send  you  information.  The  United 
States  bureau  of  food  inspection  and  your  local 
health  department  will  give  you  the  truth  about  the 
contents  of  different  remedies. 

To  fight  the  proposed  national  bureau  of  health, 
frauds  of  various  kinds,  combining  with  some  well- 
meaning  people  who  feared  that  a  strong  national 
bureau  would  injure  Christian  Science,  osteopathy, 
etc.,  spent  nearly  $1,000,000  in  1910.  The  value 
of  publicity  to  frauds  and  misdemeanants  is  further 
illustrated  by  the  fact  that  when  the  New  York 
Herald  was  prosecuted  and  fined  $25,000  by  the 
United  States  Government  for  printing  indecent 
notices,  it  was  estimated  that  the  annual  loss  to  that 
one  paper  alone  was  $200,000. 

Do  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  some  patent  medi- 
cine frauds  have  relations  with  your  health  depart- 
ment by  which  they  secure  addresses  of  people  known 
to  have  tuberculosis  or  of  mothers  of  young  babies. 
This  relation  you  can  stop. 

If  a  number  of  women  will  work  together  you  can 
also  persuade  your  newspapers  to  stop  spreading  dis- 
ease and  encouraging  dishonesty  by  printing  fraudu- 
lent notices.  Similarly  you  can  persuade  your  drug- 
gists to  flaunt  truths  instead  of  frauds  in  their  win- 
dows. Most  important  of  all,  however,  substitute  for 
patent  medicine  advertisements,  advertising  through 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

health  remedies,  through  the  proper  teaching  and 
practice  of  hygiene  in  the  public  schools  and  through 
an  efficient  department  of  health. 

Woman's  Responsibility  for  Factory  Conditions 

Ballots  do  not  note  factory  conditions. 

No  woman  has  a  right  to  be  happy  or  comfortable 
unless  she  has  positive  evidence  that  the  conditions 
in  the  stores  and  workshops  and  factories  which  sup- 
ply her  with  necessities,  comforts  and  luxuries  are 
decent,  comfortable,  sanitary,  and  from  the  stand- 
point of  factory  workers  compatible  with  "  life, 
liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 

This  does  not  mean  that  every  single  purchaser 
must  herself  visit  all  the  stores  and  factories  with 
which  she  is  indirectly  in  contact.  It  does  mean,  how- 
ever, that  she  should  answer  for  herself  the  follow- 
ing questions  asked  in  a  recent  appeal  by  the  New 
York  State  Consumers'  League: 

Are  you  interested  to  help  make  industrial  condi- 
tions better  for  the  great  army  of  women  and 
children  who  work  in  factories  and  stores? 

Are  you  interested  in  shorter  hours,  better  air, 
seats  for  tired  workers,  Saturday  half-holidays 
and  a  summer  vacation  for  all  employes? 

Are  you  interested  to  put  a  stop  to  overtime  work 
for  women  and  girls  with  its  physical  and  moral 
risks? 

Are  you  interested  to  help  abolish  the  Sweating 
System  in  manufacture? 

Are  you  interested  to  help  enforce  laws  that  pre- 
vent the  corruption  of  children  in  night  trades? 


FACTORY  EVILS  AND  TESTS        213 

Are  you  interested  in  wise  legislation  for  the  fu- 
ture of  our  working  girls  and  women? 

It  means  further  that  she  can  be  the  means  of 
making  available  to  all  of  her  neighbors  through 
public  and  school  libraries  the  literature  published  by 
the  National  Consumers'  League,  the  Women's  Wel- 
fare Auxiliary  of  the  National  Civic  Federation,  and 
the  official  reports  showing  the  efficiency  or  inef- 
ficiency of  the  inspection  service  by  the  city  and  state 
forces  which  are  responsible  for  sanitary  conditions 
of  workshops. 

Some  Tests  for  the  Woman  Purchaser 

The  only  way  the  individual  can  protect  herself 
is  to  see  that  the  whole  of  society  is  protecting  each 
worker  through  the  only  agencies  which  represent  all 
and  each, —  state,  city  and'  national  governments. 

Try  the  following  steps: 

1.  See  whether  there  is  a  special  division  or  de- 
partment whose  business  it  is  to  know  and  to 
report   the   truth   about   all  factory   conditions 
and  to  correct  unsanitary  or  unsafe  conditions 
in  your  community 

2.  Learn  from  its  reports  whether  it  seems  to  be 
business-like  and  interested  or  perfunctory 

3.  Through  a  committee  see  for  yourself  typical 
factory  conditions  and  thus  test  the  official  in- 
spection 

4.  Get    from    the    National    Consumers'    League 
(New  York  City),  the  cards  with  which  you  may 
"  score "  the  principal  shops  and  factories  in 
your  own  city.     Only  an  exceptional  business- 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

man  or  manufacturer  can  afford  to  refuse  to 
permit  an  intelligent,  earnest  committee  of 
women  to  make  an  inspection  of  his  store  or  fac- 
tory or  dairy.  Public  sentiment  will,  howi\vr, 
support  a  refusal  to  have  busy-bodies,  without 
a  programme,  come  into  a  man's  business,  ask 
irrelevant  questions  and  make  inaccurate  reports 

The  Consumers'  League  card  calls  for  yes  and  no 
answers  to  questions  such  as  these: 

Are  children  under  sixteen  employed? 

Are  goods  taken  from  the  factory  at  any  stage  for 
work? 

At  what  hours  does  the  work  start  and  end,  morn- 
ings, afternoons  and  Saturdays? 

To  what  hour  is  night  work  continued? 

What  is  the  supper  period  ? 

Is  the  factory  properly  lighted? 

Is  it  clean  ? 

Are  seats  provided  with  backs? 

Are  the  hours  posted? 

Is  machinery  properly  guarded? 

Are  there  fire  escapes  according  to  law? 

Is  the  ventilation  good  or  bad? 

Are  there  separate  toilets  for  women? 

Are  these  clean,  dirty,  in  working  order? 

Are  there  separate  dressing  rooms  for  women? 

Are  these  clean  or  dirty? 

Find  out  whether  the  courts  help  or  block  the  en- 
forcement of  the  law  regarding  sanitary  conditions 
in  factories.  Then  tell  the  truth  about  the  action 
of  magistrates  and  the  public  through  the  news- 
papers. Public  sentiment  will  compel  enforcement 
of  the  law  if  the  truth  is  generally  known.  Magis- 


DO  COURTS  BEFRIEND  EVILS?      215 

trates  are  very  sensitive  to  criticism  by  the  people 
they  know  best,  therefore  make  their  acts  known  to 
those  who  suffer*  as  well  as  to  your  city's  "  best  peo- 
ple." 

How  many  violations  were  reported? 

How  many  violators  were  held  for  trial? 

How  prompt  was  the  trial? 

How  many  violators  were  dismissed  without  trial? 

How  many  were  fined?     How  much? 

Did  trial  result  in  correction  of  conditions? 

Few  investments  of  women's  energy  have  brought 
such  large  results  as  those  which  have  been  given  to 
telling  definite  facts  about  the  working  conditions  in 
shops  and  factories.  A  good  way  to  begin  is  with 
the  establishments  maintained  by  the  public,  such  as 
schools  and  other  public  buildings.  Take  next 
churches  and  theaters.  Once  having  learned  to  score 
the  physical  conditions  of  such  buildings,  it  will  be 
easy  to  step  over  into  private  industries  for  similar 
definite  tests. 

For  working  material  and  information  address  the 
President  of  the  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs ; 
the  National  Consumer's  League,  New  York  City, 
which  is  now  preparing  a  hand  book  of  instructions 
for  its  members ;  the  Woman's  Welfare  Auxiliary  of 
the  National  Civic  Federation,  New  York  City;  Miss 
Frances  Kellor,  bureau  of  industry,  40  E.  29th  St., 
New  York  City ;  Mrs.  John  K.  Ottley,  Atlanta,  Ga. 


216     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Some  Practical  Tests  for  Factory  Women 

Do  not  try  to  be  ultra-scientific  and  get  all  the 
facts  there  are,  but  look  for  symptoms  of  greatest 
danger,  such  as  are  suggested  in  the  following  set 
of  questions  which  the  Woman's  Trade  Union 
League,  New  York  City,  asked  all  women  workers  in 
New  York's  factories  to  answer  just  after  the  Newark 
fire  in  which  a  number  of  working  girls  perished: 

Name  of  your  factory. 

Number  and  street  of  your  factory. 

What  is  your  trade? 

How  many  floors  in  your  building? 

On  which  floor  do  you  work? 

How  many  people  in  your  room? 

How  many  windows  in  your  room? 

Are  windows  barred  or  nailed  down? 

Are  doors  locked  during  working  hours? 

Do  doors  open  in  or  out? 

How  many  fire  escapes  are  there? 

Are  they  in  rear  or  front? 

How  many  staircases? 

Are  they  in  rear  or  front? 

Are  staircases  wood,  iron  or  stone? 

Is  the  way  to  fire  escape  clear  or  obstructed? 

Are  halls  dark  or  lighted? 

Are  You  Helping  to  Stop  Child  Labor? 

Voting  cannot  stop  child  labor. 

An  educator  said  to  the  Illinois  State  Teachers' 
Association  in  December,  1910,  that  for  children 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  age  in  American 
schools  the  greatest  need  is  for  an  eight-hour  day 


CHILD  LABOR  EVILS  217 

twelve   months    in   the    year,— twenty-five   hundred 
school  hours  a  year  for  each  child. 

And  this  after  a  crusade  against  work  for  children 
under  sixteen! 

The  advantage  of  being  altruistic  by  way  of  in- 
fluencing government  has  never  been  more  clearly 
shown  than  in  the  work  of  the  national  and  state 
child  labor  committees.  Women  enthusiastically  re- 
mind us  of  the  admirable  work  done  by  women  in 
securing  the  passage  of  child  labor  laws  in  many 
states.  But  the  real  secret  of  the  success  of  this 
anti-child-labor  crusade  is  in  a  small  nucleus  ever 
active,  always  well  informed,  always  definite  in  its 
suggestions,  always  working  through  existing 
agencies  and  upon  government,  known  as  the  National 
Child  Labor  Committee,  New  York  City. 

If  women  have  responded  to  the  picture  of  a 
higher  age  limit  for  workers,  it  was  also  a  woman  who 
said  that  it  was  high  time  children  were  set  to  work 
so  as  to  take  them  off  the  street  and  out  of  peoples' 
way.  If  women  promoted  the  first  laws  prohibiting 
child  labor,  women  also  evaded  the  laws  for  return- 
ing truants  to  school  while  other  women  spent  for- 
tunes earned  by  employing  and  exploiting  child 
labor. 

The  condition  of  the  child,  not  his  place  of  em- 
ployment, nor  his  age,  should  be  women's  chief  in- 
terest. Many  a  factory  is  more  sanitary  than  the 
nearest  school.  Being  a  grocer's  errand  boy  is  safer 
from  the  standpoint  of  health  than  being  a  school 
child  in  almost  any  school  in  this  country.  Being 


218     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

an  errand  boy  is  also  often  a  shorter  road  to  educa- 
tion than  attending  the  nearest  school. 

Wherever  the  child  labor  law  is  enforced  —  and 
every  state  should  have  the  standard  law  promul- 
gated by  the  national  committee  —  its  advocates  soon 
come  to  see  that  we  must  know  the  teaching  and  living 
conditions  in  our  public  schools  before  we  can  feel 
justified  in  compelling  a  child  to  go  to  school  at 
family  expense  instead  of  adding  to  the  family  income 
by  work. 

Work  is  no  more  incompatible  with  play  than  is 
any  other  form  of  confinement.  We  are  beginning 
to  see  that  confinement  in  school  is  of  itself  no  more 
wholesome  than  confinement  in  a  workshop  and  that 
home  work  may  do  as  much  damage  as  factory  work. 

Has  your  state  a  law  preventing  child  labor  under 
sixteen  ? 

Is  it  enforced? 

How  many  inspectors  are  there  ? 

Do  your  school  records  show  how  many  children 
there  are  of  the  ages  twelve,  thirteen,  fourteen 
and  fifteen  and  how  many  of  each  age  are  in 
school  and  out  of  school? 

Do  you  see  that  you  cannot  hope  to  enforce  the 
child  labor  laws  if  your  schools  are  without  a 
proper  school  census  and  efficient  attendance 
officers  ? 

Are  your  attendance  officers  efficient? 

Do  they  reach  parochial  and  private  school  chil- 
dren ? 

Must  children  of  whatever  age  take  physical  ex- 
aminations before  being  given  working  papers? 

Are  parents  told  of  physical  defects  and  dangers 


CONGESTION  A  CROWD  OF  GERMS 

of  their  children  to  prevent  undue  child  labor 

even  when  permitted  by  law  ? 
Have  your  public  and  school  libraries  the  literature 

and  laws  of  child  labor? 
Has  your  woman's  club  a  committee  following  the 

enforcement  of  the  law? 

Housing  Evils 

Voting  will  not  locate  housing  evils. 

Wherever  man  is  there  is  the  possibility  of  hous- 
ing evils. 

The  worst  form  of  congestion  is  a  crowd  of  germs, 
not  a  crowd  of  people. 

A  tenement  bedroom  without  a  window  is  no  worse 
than  a  mansion  bedroom  with  heavy  draperies  be- 
fore the  window. 

The  last  conference  on  housing  evils  which  I 
heard  was  in  a  room  overlooking  a  college  campus. 
Every  sort  of  remedy  was  suggested  for  congestion 
in  big  cities.  Yet  the  air  in  that  room  was  worse 
than  could  be  found  in  the  average  tenement  house 
or  sweat  shop  in  the  worst  congested  portions  of  New 
York. 

No  house  —  for  living,  sleeping,  working  — 
should  be  built  in  country  or  city  that  does  not  pro- 
vide light,  and  moving  clean  air.  This  means  build- 
ing departments  that  inspect  plans  before  houses  or 
stores  or  factories  are  erected;  plans  for  school 
houses  should  be  subject  to  such  inspection  by  a 
central  state  board. 

For  information  as  to  housing  evils  in  this  country 
and  abroad,  tenement  house  construction,  building 


220     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

laws,  methods  of  inspection,  etc.,  address  the 
National  Housing  Association,  and  the  Committee  on 
Congestion,  New  York  City.  The  former  adver- 
tises its  willingness  to  help  you. 

Do  not  permit  your  local  enthusiast  on  housing 
evils  to  deflect  your  interest  in  public  affairs  from 
such  questions  as  budgets,  building  inspection,  public 
schools,  health  management,  and  supervision  of  dwell- 
ings to  the  erection  of  a  handful  of  model  tenements. 
As  a  part  of  a  general  social  programme  model 
houses  are  very  important.  As  a  substitute  for  a 
general  programme  they  are  utterly  inadequate. 

Fight  Housing  Evils  at  Home 

The  best  cure  for  housing  evils  is  knowledge  and 
practice  in  breathing  fresh  air,  plus  earning 
capacity. 

Few  philanthropists  will  try  seriously  to  stop 
housing  evils  who  cover  their  own  heads  with  blankets 
or  who  shut  their  own  windows  to  keep  out  the  night 
air.  It  is  folly  to  try  to  get  up  public  excitement 
about  bad  air  in  working  districts  when  churches  and 
theaters  and  sick  rooms  are  filthy  with  unclean  air. 

The  way  to  fight  bad  air  is  to  call  it  dirty  air. 
While  it  will  take  years  to  readjust  industrial  con- 
ditions, it  need  take  but  weeks  or  months  to  secure 
adequate  ventilation  of  public  assembly  rooms,  school 
buildings,  churches  and  one's  own  residence,  work 
room  and  sleeping  room. 

A  wealthy  woman  once  told  me  she  was  a  "  fresh 
air  fiend."  She  was  tremendously  interested  in  the 


REMEDIES  FOR  OVERCROWDING 

housing  question.  Business  sent  me  to  a  home  that 
was  back  to  back  with  this  woman's  home.  Her  own 
bedroom  looked  out  upon  an  open  yard  with  one  or 
two  trees.  At  night  her  maid  or  herself  would  open 
a  window  about  six  inches,  then  close  the  wooden  shut- 
ters on  the  inside  and  then  draw  the  curtain  down  to 
the  bottom  of  the  shutter.  Verily,  she  was  a  "  fresh 
air  fiend." 

When  I  cited  this  case  to  a  college  friend,  she  said 
she  had  recently  gone  into  the  country  with  another 
"  fresh  air  fiend  "  to  spend  the  night.  A  flood  of 
cold  air  was  let  into  the  room  and  the  windows  left 
wide  open.  Although  my  friend  nearly  froze  to 
death  she  was  glad  she  was  counted  as  a  fresh  air 
enthusiast.  When  early  in  the  morning  she  woke  up 
she  found  that  the  propagandist  in  the  next  bed  had 
her  head  entirely  covered  with  woolen  blankets.  An- 
other "  fresh  air  fiend  "  ! 

Causes  of  Overcrowding  and  Remedies 

New  York  City's  congestion  committee  persuaded 
Mayor  Gaynor  to  appoint  a  city  commission  on  con- 
gestion of  population.  After  working  about  a  year 
this  commission  reported  with  respect  to  congestion 
and  room  overcrowding  under  five  headings:  (1) 
conditions;  (2)  effects;  (3)  causes;  (4)  methods 
adopted  by  American  and  foreign  cities  to  prevent; 
(5)  recommendations  for  relieving  the  present  and 
future  congestion  and  room  overcrowding. 

You  will  do  well  to  secure  a  copy  of  this  report. 
It  will  suggest  a  number  of  evils  to  avoid  in  your 


222     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

own  community  if  it  is  a  growing  city.  Adding 
to  it  information  which  the  National  Housing 
Association  will  send  you,  you  should  be  in  a  position 
to  make  a  survey  of  the  housing  conditions  of  your 
own  community  and  of  its  housing  laws  and  methods 
of  administration  that  in  a  short  time  would  furnish 
the  basis  for  preventive  and  constructive  work  if  such 
is  needed. 

Suburban  communities  will  be  interested  in  the 
proposals  to  limit  the  height  of  tenement  houses  in 
outlying  districts,  ( 1 )  "to  the  width  of  the  widest 
street  upon  which  it  stands,"  and  (2)  to  three  stories 
no  matter  what  the  width  of  the  widest  street. 

Are  Your  Streets  Clean? 

Ballots  cannot  clean  streets. 

Better  than  almost  anything  else  do  streets  illus- 
trate how  far  we  have  come  from  the  time  when  hav- 
ing one's  own  home  scrupulously  clean  discharged 
one's  duty  as  a  citizen.  Even  small  towns  and 
country  districts  are  no  longer  safe  in  relying  upon 
individual  cleanliness. 

Self  government  by  children  in  schools,  or  chil- 
dren's street  cleaning  brigades  by  whatever  names, 
will  do  much  to  train  children  in  proper  standards 
of  cleanliness  for  streets. 

There  is  no  more  useful  motive  than  the  desire  to 
look  neat  and  prosperous.  This  aesthetic  motive  is 
strengthened  by  the  knowledge  that  dirt  and  litter 
will  foster  disease. 


THERE  ARE  CLEAN  STREETS 


Make  It  Easy  to  Keep  Streets  Clean 

When  is  a  street  clean? 

Does  cleanliness  of  street  affect  self-respect? 

Do  you  agree  with  Professor  S.  N.   Patten,  the 

economist,  that  the  quickest  way  to   get  clean 

streets  in  the  uncleanest  districts  of  a  city  would 

be  to  give  every  girl  and  woman  in  those  dis- 

tricts a  beautiful  white  dress  which  she  will  want 

to  keep  clean? 

Have  you  wastebaskets  on  your  street? 
Do  you  personally  want  clean  streets  for  health 

reasons  or  beauty  reasons  ? 
What  is  your  own  share  of  the  cost  of  street  clean- 

ing? 

Would  you  be  willing  to  pay  more? 
Have  you  tried  to  stimulate  pride  of  efficiency  in 

your  steet  cleaners  by  giving  medals  or  other 

forms  of  "  bouquets  "  or  rewards  ? 
Do  travelers  returning  to  your  city  contrast  its 

unclean  streets  with  the  cleaner  streets  of  nearby 

or  urban  cities? 
Is  there  any  reason  why  Englishmen  or  Germans 

should   be   cleaner   in   Birmingham   and   Berlin 

than  in  Boston  and  Buffalo? 

But  it  must  be  made  easy  to  keep  streets  and  al- 
leys clean.  A  woman,  who  more  than  any  other  in- 
terested a  certain  great  city  in  clean  streets,  for 
years  succeeded  in  preventing  the  placing  of  cans  on 
the  street  for  receiving  newspaper  wrappings,  ba- 
nana peels  and  other  waste  matter.  Why?  On  the 
ground  that  people  must  be  taught  to  take  such 
things  home. 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  trouble  with  this  puritan  philosophy  is  that 
people  do  not  want  to  carry  things  around  with  them 
all  day  out  of  a  love  for  civic  order. 

Just  as  policemen  make  order  easy  by  being 
around  as  reminders,  so  wastebaskets  inhibit  a  de- 
sire to  throw  on  the  walks  and  in  the  streets  those 
things  which  can  be  easily  placed  in  a  receptacle. 
Fortunately  commerce  caters  to  this  need  and  has  for 
sale  numerous  receptacles  within  the  reach  of  any 
neighborhood. 

Sprinkling  and  flushing  the  streets  at  common  cost, 
removing  the  garbage  at  common  cost,  cleaning  out- 
houses at  common  cost,  and  building  streets  of 
material  that  make  them  easy  to  clean  are  all  impor- 
tant steps. 

Many  cities  and  towns  neglect  street  cleaning  in 
the  winter  or  when  snow  is  on  the  ground ;  hence,  con- 
ditions that  would  be  intolerable  if  they  could  be 
more  easily  seen  are  permitted  to  grow  worse  and 
worse,  until,  as  Paul  West  says : 

We  have  to  slop  and  slush 

Through  oceans  of  miasmic  mush 

And  dirt  and  slime  and  sticking  mud 

That  breeds  bacteria  for  our  blood, 

And  gives  us  grip  and  shiv'ring  chills 

And  all  the  other  human  ills, 

And  makes  us  madly  rage  and  roar: 

"Say,  what  do  we  have  street-cleaners  for?" 

The  preventable  and  transmissible  diseases  due  to 
unclean  streets  may  easily  cost  a  community  more 
than  cleaning  streets. 


HELP  OFFICIALS  CLEAN  STREETS     225 

Helping  Officials  Keep  Streets  Clean 

Some  cities  have  an  annual  cleaning  day,  which 
is  unquestionably  a  splendid  thing.  But  after  all, 
an  annual  cleaning  day  for  any  city  where  there  is  a 
woman's  club  or  where  women  are  able  to  get  around 
is  too  much  like  the  monthly  bath  of  the  man  who 
"  takes  one  every  month  whether  he  needs  it  or  not." 

A  woman's  club  can  be  sure  that  the  local  public  or 
school  library  has  the  latest  information  on  street 
cleaning  and  subscribes  to  one  or  two  journals  that 
give  new  information.  Journals  are  better  than 
books  because  they  tell  of  new  experiments  like  the 
flushing  of  streets  in  New  York  City,  which  is  said 
to  be  better  and  cheaper  than  sweeping.  Besides, 
the  editors  of  journals,  such  as  The  Municipal  Jour- 
not  and  Engineering  News  or  The  Survey,  New  York 
City,  make  it  a  point  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  latest 
evidence  and  experience  and  are  glad  to  answer 
technical  as  well  as  general  questions.  For  the  story 
of  women's  cooperation  in  street  cleaning  address 
Woman's  Municipal  League,  New  York  City,  or 
Woman's  Municipal  League,  Boston. 

Social  work  with  street  cleaners  will  be  a  good 
investment.  In  proportion  as  they  respect  their 
calling  will  they  enjoy  it  and  perform  its  duties 
well. 

A  committee  can  do  a  great  deal  whose  business  it 
is  to  make  not  only  an  annual  tour  but  a  monthly  tour 
of  the  city  streets  most  apt  to  be  neglected  and  of 


226     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

the  alleys,  suburbs  and  ravines  where  people  love  to 
dump  the  city's  waste. 

Try  making  pin  maps  of  clean  and  unclean  streets. 

Where  Unclean  Streets  Are  Unforgivable 

Certain  it  is  that  in  no  community  is  there  the 
slightest  excuse  for  uncleanliness  and  lack  of  order 
about  the  buildings  owned  by  the  whole  community 
—  city  hall,  hospital,  board  of  education  building, 
etc. —  nor  is  there  any  excuse  for  neglect  immedi- 
ately in  front  of  the  door  or  on  the  street  crossing  of 
a  prominent  club  woman.  Some  of  the  uncleanest 
front  yards,  back  yards,  alleys  and  gutters  I  ever 
saw  were  within  a  stone's  throw  of  one  of  the  best- 
known  social  settlements  in  the  United  States.  Some 
of  the  uncleanest  buildings  and  grounds  I  ever  saw 
were  state  houses  and  city  halls,  none  of  which  had 
the  excuse  of  a  certain  boys'  republic, —  waiting  for 
the  citizens  to  evolve  standards  of  cleanliness. 

Two  Street  Cleaning  Jingles 

Utilize  the  newspaper.  Dirt  makes  news.  Pro- 
tests against  dirt  make  news.  Ways  of  preventing 
dirt  make  news.  If  your  water  department  refuses 
to  allow  flushing  of  streets,  try  this : 

Mother,  may  I  go  clean  the  streets? 
Yes,  my  darling  daughter, 
Go  out  and  clean  with  all  your  might, 
But  don't  use  any  water ! 

Utilize  your  schools.  Interest  children  in  the  many 
ways  in  which  dirt  murders.  Work  out  healthgrams 


A  STREET  SURVEY 

such  as  are  being  spread  broadcast  through  Michigan 
by  the  state  board  of  health  and  give  prizes,  or  get 
your  newspapers  to  offer  prizes  for  health  jingles 
like  this: 

Whenever  you  spit,  whenever  you  sneeze, 

Whenever  your  rugs  you  beat, 

When  you  scatter  dust  with  a  feather  broom 

And  shake  it  out  in  the  street, 

When  rubbish  you  pile  upon  the  road, 

When  ash  barrels  have  no  top, 

You're  poisoning  the  air   for  somebody's  lungs, 

And  it's  time  that  you  should  stop. 

Sanitary  Survey  of  Streets 

Are  the  streets  in  front  of  your  house  clean? 
Are  the  streets  in   front   of  your  business  place 

clean  ? 
Are  the  streets  in  your  crowded  districts  cleaned 

daily? 
Are  the  streets  in  your  crowded  districts  cleaned 

weekly  ? 

Do  you  know  why? 
Are  there  holes  in  your  streets? 
Have  you  surface  drainage? 
Have   you   receptacles    on   the   streets    for   waste 

paper  and  other  refuse? 
Are  your  streets  cleaned  in  the  day-time  ?  or 
Are  your  streets  cleaned  at  night? 
Are  the  street  sweepings  put  in  covered  wagons  ?  er 
Are  the  street  sweepings  put  in  open  wagons  and 

blown  out  again  into  people's  eyes? 
Do  street  cleaners  respect  their  work  themselves  ? 
Do  you  use  water  for  flushing  the  streets? 
Do  you  use  sprinklers? 
Do  you  see  how  lighting  streets  well  at  night  will 

make  it  easier  to  keep  them  clean? 
Is  there  an  organized  interest  among  your  school 


228     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

children  like  the  Waring  Brigades  for  keeping 

streets  clean? 
Is  there  any  committee  or  society  of  women  whose 

special  interest  is  keeping  streets  clean? 
Do  you  see  that  children  would  take  less  interest 

in  keeping  streets  clean  if  they  are  constantly 

told  that  streets  are  unfit  places  for  play? 

The  Disposal  of  Refuse 

Voting  will  not  dispose  of  refuse. 

The  best  way  to  dispose  of  refuse  is  not  to  have 
any.  It  is  more  economical  to  use  up  meats  and 
vegetables  than  to  put  them  in  the  garbage  can. 
Have  you  never  realized  that  garbage  is  one  of  the 
chief  causes  of  the  higher  cost  of  living? 

Where  open  fires  are  used  or  furnaces  there  is 
every  reason  for  burning  waste  paper,  garbage  and 
other  house  refuse.  Unfortunately  we  cannot  burn 
ashes,  and  more  and  more  of  us  are  living  where  we 
use  gas  and  electricity  and  cannot  burn  our  own 
garbage  in  the  kind  of  ranges  provided.  Even  here, 
however,  the  commercial  motive  is  busy  inventing, 
making  and  marketing  for  from  $70  to  $180  "  sani- 
tary disposal  of  garbage  and  refuse  where  it  origi- 
nates "  in  home,  hospital,  school,  etc. 

There  can  be  no  city  beautiful  until  there  is  a  city 
clean.  There  can  be  no  city  clean  where  it  is  not 
made  easy  to  bathe  the  body,  to  clean  streets  and  to 
remove  garbage  and  other  waste  incident  to  living 
and  working  together. 

Garbage  disposal  in  cities  should  be  a  source  of 


DISPOSING  OF  REFUSE  229 

profit  to  taxpayers  but  of  not  enough  profit  to  be  a 
nuisance.  For  latest  facts  address  the  Municipal 
Journal  and  Engineering  News,  New  York  City. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  think  that  the  disposing 
of  waste  is  not  a  problem  in  small  towns  and  country 
districts.  Horrible  conditions  exist  in  many  a  back 
yard,  on  isolated  farms  and  in  country  towns,  which 
are  apt  to  be  overlooked  until  some  nearby  urban  dis- 
trict has  typhoid  or  scarlet  fever. 

Waterworks  and  running  sewers  hidden  from  the 
eye  can  do  much.  Surface  sewers  should  be  aban- 
doned wherever  practical.  Cesspools  should  be  com- 
pelled in  the  country,  as  in  England.  Outhouses 
should  be  regularly  inspected  in  the  country  as  well 
as  in  small  towns,  as  in  rural  England.  Fire  is  a 
great  cleanser  and  is  practical  everywhere. 

What  happens  to  garbage  in  your  city? 

Is  it  permitted  to  be  a  nuisance? 

Is  your  duty  over  when  your  own  garbage  leaves 
your  premises? 

Is  waste  land  filled  in  with  garbage  permitted  with- 
out disinfection  or  plowing  under? 

What  books  on  garbage  disposal  have  your  city 
officers  or  your  library? 

Are  the  facts  about  garbage  disposal  in  your  city 
understood  by  business  men  and  women's  clubs? 

If  there  is  not  yet  any  systematic  collection,  is  the 
time  ripe  for  a  cooperative  enterprise? 

If  the  subject  is  one  of  general  complaint,  cannot 
you  get  the  simpler  remedies  applied  at  once? 


230     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Play  in  Streets  ' 

The  street  as  a  playground  has  been  very  much 
maligned.  The  wonders  and  opportunities  not  the 
evils  of  city  streets  should  be  emphasized. 

Children  within  half  a  block  of  playgrounds  and 
parks  prefer  to  play  in  their  own  streets  a  great 
part  of  the  time.  There  is  a  reason. 

Instead  of  driving  children  off  the  streets  because 
the  streets  are  not  fit  to  play  on,  the  thing  to  do  in 
most  cities  is  to  make  the  streets  fit  to  play  on,  keep 
them  clean,  reserve  some  of  them  from  traffic,  protect 
the  play  enough  to  prevent  unnecessary  arrests  while 
securing  amends  for  broken  windows  and  preventing 
noise  near  hospitals  and  sick  persons.  Little  can  be 
accomplished  by  making  a  bug-a-boo  of  public 
streets. 

Much  can  be  accomplished  by  making  children 
proud  of  their  streets,  by  making  the  streets  some- 
thing to  be  proud  of,  and  by  recognizing  their  play 
possibilities. 

An  examination  would  probably  show  that  in  no 
cities  are  streets  used  for  play  so  much  and  so  well 
as  in  those  cities  which  have  organized  playgrounds 
and  recreation  centers.  Playgrounds  interest  chil- 
dren in  play  and  show  them  more  ways  to  play.  Just 
as  public  baths  increase  rather  than  decrease  the  fre- 
quency of  home  bathing,  so  playgrounds  increase  the 
number  of  children  who  want  to  play.  Children  who 
learn  games  that  can  be  played  in  a  ten-foot  square 
on  a  playground  under  a  supervisor  can  never  be 


SAFE  PLAY  IN  STREETS  231 

taught  to  scorn  a  fifty-foot  street  without  a  super- 
visor wherever  enough  get  together  for  those  same 
games. 

Why  not  organize  brigades  for  proper  street  play 

such  as   have  been  successfully   organized  for 

cleaning  streets? 

Are  you  ashamed  of  your  street? 
Did  you  ever  play  on  the  street? 
Did  you  ever  enjoy  any  play  more? 
Is  it  out  of  the  question  to  prevent  wagon  traffic 

on  certain  streets  after  school  hours? 
Did  you  ever  see  a  more  beautiful  moon  than  you 

can  see  from  a  city  street? 
Did  the  stars  ever  look  bigger  and  clearer  than 

when  viewed  from  the  telescope  furnished  by  tall 

houses  on  a  street? 
Can  anything  keep  the  outlines  of  city  buildings 

from  being  beautiful  if  the  pictures  include  the 

curves  and  colors  of  the  sky  ? 
If  you  started  the  gospel  of  beautiful  streets  and 

safe  streets,  would  you  do  less  for  play  than  by 

protesting  against  your  streets  because  they  are 

unsafe  and  unclean? 
If  children  were  taught  that  streets  should  be  fit 

to  play  in,  would  they  take  a  greater  interest 

in  keeping  them  clean  and  beautiful? 

Play  in  Parks 

"  Shall  sheep  or  people  have  the  parks?" 

This  question  stared  at  all  visitors  to  New  York 

City's  budget  exhibit.     If  sheep  use  the   park  the 

lawns  will  be  kept  green  and  beautiful  to  look  at. 

If  people  use  the  park,  the  grass  will  be  worn  out. 

The  people  who  ride  through  parks  in  automobiles 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

would  rather  see  green  grass  than  bare  ground. 
Most  of  them  would  rather  see  sheep  than  people. 

This  issue  between  service  and  beauty,  enjoyment 
by  the  few  and  enjoyment  by  the  many,  is  one  that 
will  last  as  long  as  some  people  walk  while  others 
ride  in  automobiles,  or  at  least  until  those  who  ride 
in  automobiles  can  see  more  beauty  in  a  family  picnic 
on  the  green  grass  than  in  grazing  sheep. 

In  Chicago  there  is  nothing  incompatible  between 
park  beauty  and  popularization  of  parks  through 
baseball,  tennis,  croquet,  public  baths  and  wading 
pools.  Perhaps  that  is  because  the  popular  features 
have  been  put  in  the  right  place  and  given  an  orderly 
appearance. 

Compromise  is  possible  everywhere.  Every  city 
needs  its  play  space.  Quite  as  much  does  every  city 
need  open  spaces  where  people  do  not  conduct  ath- 
letic contests.  It  is  just  as  much  playing  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  term  to  sit  on  a  park  bench,  rest,  read  or 
walk  through  a  park  path  as  to  play  football. 

Have  plenty  of  play  space  outside  your  big 
parks  so  that  there  will  be  no  temptation  to  cut  up 
the  central  park  or  zoological  garden  into  baseball 
grounds. 

Parks  should  be  properly  lighted  at  night  to  en- 
courage the  right  people  to  come  in  and  the  wrong 
people  to  stay  out. 

It  is  easy  to  waste  money  on  park  sites  and  park 
expenses.  Be  sure  your  parks  are  costing  no  more 
than  they  should  and  that  park  payrolls  are  not 
overcrowded.  If  there  is  any  place  in  the  world  where 


*  THE  SOUL  OF  PLAY  "  233 

laborers  should  appear  to  be  earning  their  salaries  it 
is  in  public  parks  and  playgrounds. 

For  two  reports  of  things  to  avoid  in  managing 
public  parks  and  playgrounds,  send  to  the  Bureau  of 
Municipal  Research,  New  York  City  for  Park  Ques- 
tion No.  1  Pertaining  to  Administration  and  Account- 
ing Methods  and  Park  Question  No.  2  Pertaining  to 
Revenues  and  Deposits. 

The  Playground  Movement 

Unless  you  are  very  careful  your  playground 
movement  will  become  a  playground  standstill  and 
backward  movement  and  we  shall  have  several  hun- 
dred cities  with  playground  white  elephants  on  their 
hands  because  of  mismanagement.  Few  cities  whose 
general  government  is  inefficient  will  fail  to  be  dis- 
appointed in  the  management  of  their  playgrounds. 

Soul  of  Play  vs.  Supervision 

Do  not  stifle  the  soul  of  play  with  parallel  bars,  pe- 
riodic games,  inflexible  programmes  and  expert  super- 
vision. Do  not  sacrifice  the  interest  of  hundreds  of 
children  to  develop  team  work.  Do  not  spend 
$108.00  on  a  bird  house,  as  did  New  York's  play 
supervisor  last  summer,  when  eight  cents  worth  of 
material  plus  children's  interest  will  build  one  just  as 
good. 

No  open  space  called  a  playground,  no  matter 
how  it  is  fitted  up,  can  be  made  into  a  playground 
unless  children  associate  a  good  time  with  that  space. 
When  the  National  Playground  Association  was 


234     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

started  President  Roosevelt  advised  against  too  much 
supervision.  Observers  have  discovered  the  same 
tendency  on  the  part  of  children  to  prefer  an  old 
vacant  lot  to  the  "  organized  playground "  as  to 
prefer  an  old  rag  doll  to  the  modern  contraptions 
that  excel  in  cost,  in  finery,  mechanical  adjuncts  and 
everything  except  in  appeal  to  the  child. 

For  a  list  of  400  cities  with  playgrounds  and  their 
cost,  address  the  National  Playground  Association, 
1  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City.  Consult  its 
monthly  journal —  The  Playground  —  for  advice  as 
to  starting  a  playground  movement,  what  to  do,  what 
to  avoid  and  how  to  get  its  expert  organizer. 

Special  Claims  of  Sex 

The  same  full  tide  of  sex  equality  which  demands 
the  abolition  of  sex  lines  demands  at  the  same  time 
recognition  of  certain  sex  differences. 

Wherever  women  themselves  undervalue  these  sex 
differences,  society  must  •  step  forward  because  the 
whole  community  bears  the  burden  and  pays  the 
penalty  for  all  neglect  of  these  special  claims  im- 
posed by  nature  herself. 

Girls  are  going  to  be  mothers.  Their  strength 
must  be  conserved.  Girls  are  subject  to  tempta- 
tion ;  hence  special  safeguards  should  be  thrown 
around  their  employment  with  men. 

Girls  should  be  instructed  as  to  the  special  moan- 
ing of  their  special  sex  and  its  relation  to  the  other 
sex.  The  age  of  consent  should  be  raised  to  eighteen 
or  twenty-one,  some  would  say  to  fifty. 


SPECIAL  CLAIMS  OF  SEX  235 

Not  only  civil  service  but  the  law  for  private 
service  should  permit  the  approaching  mother  to  drop 
her  employment  for  at  least  two  weeks  prior  to  the 
birth  of  a  child  and  for  at  least  two  weeks  after  the 
birth  of  a  child,  without  loss  of  employment,  and 
some  would  say  without  loss  of  compensation. 

Under  the  leadership  of  the  National  Consumer's 
League  forty-one  legislatures  are  being  asked  in  the 
winter  of  1911  to  pass  a  uniform  law  restricting 
the  hours  of  women  which  contains  all  the  best  pro- 
visions now  enforced  in  any  state : 

A  working  week  of  six  days;  not  more  than 
sixty  hours,  preferably  fifty-six,  fifty-four  or 
forty-eight. 

Abolition  of  night  work. 

A  closing  hour  set  at  six  p.  M.  in  the  textile 
industries  and  not  later  than  ten  P.  M.  in  others, 
following  the  precedent  of  Massachusetts. 

A  working  day  of  ten  hours,  preferably  not 
more  than  nine  or  eight. 

A  short  working  day  on  Saturday,  if  pro- 
vided, should  not  depend  upon  longer  hours  on 
other  working  days. 

Working  hours  to  be  posted  where  the  per- 
sons named  in  the  notice  actually  do  work,  not 
in  remote  corners ;  posted  notice  to  show  hours 
of  beginning  and  hours  of  stopping  for  nooa 
hour;  hours  of  beginning  and  stopping  in  the 
afternoon;  presence  on  premises  to  constitute 
prima  facie  evidence  of  employment. 

The  words  "  permitted  or  suffered  to  work ' 
are  indispensable  in  addition  to  "  required  "  in 
the  prohibiting  sections. 


236     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

No  industries  should  be  exempted  in  the  text 
bill. 

The  title  should  state  that  the  measure  is  to 
promote  the  public  health  (or  the  health  of  the 
employes  designated)  and  must  contain  every 
subject  mentioned  in  the  text.  (The  statute 
of  Nebraska  is  attacked  because  its  title  is  de- 
fective. ) 

These  special  claims  of  sex  will  become  more  in- 
sistent with  each  forward  step  in  abolishing  sex 
lines.  The  problem  is  not  what  ought  to  be,  but 
how  lines  may  be  drawn  practically  so  that  mother- 
hood, sisterhood,  girlhood  and  femalehood  may  be 
recognized  and  protected  without  doing  injustice  to 
mothers  and  sisters  and  daughters  by  overtaxing  the 
male's  capacity  to  carry  such  portion  of  the  burden 
as  enlightened  public  sentiment  may  put  on  his 
shoulders. 

Should  women  be  permitted  to  clean  streets  or  tend 

bar  or  drive  public  hacks  or  act  as  brakemen, 

policemen,  firemen? 
Should  women  be  allowed  to  violate  nature's  laws 

if  they  want  to? 
Should  women  have  a  lower  maximum  number  of 

working  hours  per  week  than  men  ? 
Should  all  night  employment  of  women  away  from 

their  homes  be  prohibited? 
Should  the  law  regulate  the  employment  of  women 

at  home? 

Are  women  ever  injured  by  their  amusements? 
Should  the  law  interfere  with  such  amusements  by 

prohibiting,   for   example,    dancing   after   mid- 


3%  IS  NOT  GREATER  THAN  100%     237 

night    or    smoking    of    cigarettes    by    nervous 
women  ? 

Should  pregnancy  or  menstruation  be  made  a  legal 
excuse  from  jury  service  or  from  labor  con- 
tracts ? 

A  National  Children's  Bureau  or  Nation  Wide  Work 
for  Children  by  All  Bureaus? 

"  Hypothetical  history  "  is  said  to  be  profitless. 

Because  this  year  is  almost  always  better  than  last 
year  we  are  fairly  under  compulsion  to  admit  that 
the  means  used  last  year  were  better  than  other  means 
which  were  proposed  but  rejected. 

"  Every  little  helps  a  little  "  is  a  method  we  have 
been  using.  Why  should  we  not,  therefore,  continue 
to  use  it? 

It  stands  to  reason,  we  are  told,  that  we  cannot 
interest  all  or  any  considerable  part  of  us  in  the 
same  part  of  a  problem  or  in  all  problems  at  the 
same  time.  By  zigzagging,  therefore,  we  are  said 
to  make  most  headway.  When  some  new  work  is 
to  be  done  we  are  asked  to  concentrate  for  a  short 
spell  on  the  new  enthusiasm.  Thus,  as  a  means  of 
helping  the  nation's  children  we  are  asked  to  demand 
a  children's  bureau.  Belief  in  a  children's  bureau 
is  made  a  test  of  our  interest  in  children. 

Yet  think  what  this  proposition  means ! 

We  have  a  United  States  bureau  of  education  in 
touch  with  20,000,000  children  through  fifty  state 
superintendents,  thousands  of  city  superintendents 
and  500,000  teachers.  We  are  told  we  cannot  hope 


238     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

to  help  children  through  this  national  bureau  of  edu- 
cation. It  has  been  inefficient.  It  has  been  unpopu- 
lar. President  Roosevelt  failed  to  discover  it.  Pres- 
ident Taft  did  not  mention  it  in  his  annual  message 
of  22,000  words.  It  has  never  had  money  enough 
to  do  enough  work.  Let  us  try,  therefore,  something 
new. 

We  have  various  health  bureaus  which  should  deal 
with  the  welfare  of  the  child  before  he  goes  to  school 
and  after  he  leaves.  These  have  been  divided,  have 
been  inefficient,  have  tried  to  do  too  little,  have  had 
too  little  money.  Let  us  repudiate  them  and  start  a 
new  agency. 

We  have  a  United  States  bureau  of  census  col- 
lecting information  with  regard  to  child  welfare.  It 
has  not  asked  a  number  of  questions  which  ought  to 
be  asked.  The  general  public  is  not  enthusiastic 
about  it.  Let  us  not  try  to  work  through  this  bureau 
but  start  an  independent  bureau. 

Instead  of  harnessing  to  a  comprehensive  pro- 
gramme for  child  welfare,  these  great  national  agen- 
cies and  corresponding  state  and  city  agencies  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  it  is  proposed  that  we  concen- 
trate upon  a  central  children's  bureau  with  one-half 
dozen  workers  and  one  or  two  able  investigators. 

Nothing  more  characteristic  of  social  uplift  work 
in  the  past  can  be  found  than  this  effort  to  do  nation- 
wide service  through  a  new  small  agency  rather  than 
through  existing  comprehensive  agencies.  The  child 
is  not  more  important  than  the  parent.  The  child  is 
not  more  important  than  the  civilization  of  which  he 


VITALIZE  EXISTING  BUREAUS 

is  a  part.  We  cannot  afford  to  relieve  the  schools, 
the  health  bureaus  and  the  census  department  of  their 
responsibility.  Sooner  or  later  we  must  come  to  see 
that  100%  is  bigger  than  2%  and  that  the  way  to 
compensate  for  inefficiency  in  an  agency  which  em- 
ploys 500,000  teachers  is  to  make  it  efficient  and  not 
to  start  a  new  agency. 

The  energy  which  has  been  put  into  the  demand 
for  a  separate  children's  bureau  might,  if  differently 
directed,  have  got  done  all  the  work  planned  for  that 
bureau,  plus  untold  other  benefits,  through  existing 
bureaus  that  could  have  been  vitalized  and  strength- 
ened. 

Health  Jingles 

"  The  efficacy  of  rhymes  in  education  has  long 
been  known.  They  may  be  used  quite  as  effectively 
in  emphasizing  health  hints  to  children.  For  ex- 
ample the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  sends  us: 

Mary  had  a  little  cold 

That  started  in  her  head, 
And  everywhere  that  Mary  went 

That  cold  was  sure  to  spread. 

It  followed  her  to  school  one  day 

(There  wasn't  any  rule)  ; 
It  made  the  children  cough  and  sneeze 

To  have  that  cold  in  school. 

The  teacher  tried  to  drive  it  out, 

She  tried  hard,  but  —  kerchoo ! 
It  didn't  do  a  bit  of  good. 

For  teacher  caught  it  too. 

"  Now  that  is  the  old  truth,  that  combining  enter- 
tainment with  instruction  facilitates  the  latter.  It 


240     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

may  not  be  too  late  even  now,  for  our  board  of  health 
to  issue  its  warnings  to  the  people  in  the  form  of 
rhymecfr  parodies  on  well-known  verses.  Perhaps 
some  of  our  readers  may  be  able  to  supply  a  jingle 
with  a  taking  lilt  which  will  appeal  to  our  citizens 
and  appreciably  influence  a  good  many  of  them  to 
follow  the  precautions  necessary  under  present  condi- 
tions. There  are  no  prizes  offered,  but  no  doubt 
many  of  our  readers  will  be  happy  to  try  their  hands 
at  a  little  diversion  which  may  redound  to  the  public 
good."  Editorial,  Erie,  Pa.,  Dispatch. 
But  why  not  offer  prizes  in  your  town? 


A  BUDGET  EXHIBIT  SIGN,  1908 

THE 

S  2,000,000 

WHICH  WAS  WASTED 
ON  BRONX  SALARIES 

COULD    RAVE    IEEI   USED 

FOR    INDUSTRIAL    TRAINING 
OR      PLAYGROUNDS 

Health  Needs  Furnish  Reasons  for  Efficient  Government 


HOW  WOMEN  MAY  HELP  THEIR  SCHOOLS, 
PUBLIC,  PRIVATE  AND  PAROCHIAL 


What  is  the  Matter  with  the  American  Public 
School? 


Overworked  pupils 
Overtaxed  teachers 
Overloaded  curriculum 
Obsolete  ideals 
Insufficient  salaries 

Lack  of  concentration 
Lack  of  drill 
Lack  of  discipline 
Lack  of  symmetry 
Lack  of  thoroughness 

Too  many  classes 
Too  many  books 
Too  many  subjects 
Too  many  methods 
Too  large  classes 

Composition  insufficient 
Drawing  undeveloped 
Nature  study  worthless 
Arithmetic  impractical 
Grammar  neglected 

Culture  artificial 
Moral  "  dry  rot  " 
Pupils  indifferent 
Parents  disgusted 
Multiplicity  of  studies 


No  originality 

No  system 

No  flexibility 

No  variety 

No  critical  faculty 

Too  much  undertaken 
Teaching  tangled 
Teaching  inefficient 
Teaching  hurried 
Teaching  perfunctory 

Confusion 
System  distended 
Records  unreliable 
Blind  experimentalism 
Retardation  unexplained 

Teachers  untrained 
Too  much  "  school  man  " 
Child  study  abnormal 
Education  superficial 
Traditions  dangerous 

Congestion  of  criticism 
Distraction  and  dissipation 
Emotional  strain 
Loss  of  efficiency 
Letdown  in  serious  work 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  above  "  matters  "  with  the  public  school  are 
not  my  opinion.  They  are  taken  from  articles  by 
leading  educators  of  the  United  States,  Germany  and 
England  in  the  Educational  Review  (published  by 
Columbia  University)  from  1890-1910. 

Are  similar  complaints  ever  made  against  your 
local  public  schools? 

Do  the  Schools  Need  Outside  Help? 

From  three  hundred  and  fifteen  city  superintend- 
ents of  schools  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research 
has  learned  of  help  given  to  the  schools  by  citizens 
other  than  by  service  on  board  of  education,  by  vot- 
ing and  by  paying  taxes,  as  shown  by  the  accom- 
panying diagram: 

For  a  detailed  report,  including  answers  from 
several  hundred  business  men,  women,  dentists,  physi- 
cians and  ministers,  write  for  the  report  on  Civic  Co- 
operation with  Public  Schools,  made  possible  and 
conducted  by  a  1910  graduate  of  Bryn  Mawr  Col- 
lege, Miss  Elsa  Denison  of  Denver. 

Reasons  for  Outside  Cooperation  with  Schools 

Do  you  know  any  city  where  voluntary  interest 
in  public  schools  is  as  well  organized  as  inter- 
est in  hospitals,  orphan  asylums  or  other  private 
charities  ? 

Should  more  women  care  about  juvenile  courts  than 
about  juvenile  education? 

Is  there  any  other  field  which  offers  to  college 
women  such  wide  opportunities  for  civic  service 
as  cooperation  with  public  schools? 


OUTSIDE  HELP  FOR  SCHOOLS      245 


"3    a 


Ill  IS 

>>     §      O       P4      rf 
^q     ff\       Q      QQ      ^ 


1 

w 

rt 


III1!    ^ 

*  S? §  P  §  8  -S 

Ililliil 


S2 

I"" 
iJ 


ll 
So 


•K  IH    <u  m  c^  «ti 

isiSalll 


jiiiiiji 

KpH^PH^^Qpq 


S« 
'-S  ^ 
'S  I 
10  I 


a 

3-3 

a  5 


246     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

What  proportion  of  women  now  most  interested  in 
your  schools  are  mothers  and  how  many  have 
children  in  the  public  schools? 

Who  needs  a  friendly  visitor  more  than  the  school 
teacher?  To  whom  can  your  teachers  go  to  dis- 
cuss their  problems? 

Does  your  school  superintendent  want  your  intelli- 
gent help  or  your  unquestioning  endorsement? 

Is  interest  in  schools  largely  confined  to  women  or 
do  business  men  keep  in  touch? 

Has  your  town  learned  that  understanding  schools 
requires  trained  workers,  money,  continuous 
study,  simple  presentation  of  facts  to  the  public 
and  persistent  demand  for  action  in  conformity 
with  the  facts? 

There  are  four  reasons  for  the  relatively  slight  at- 
tention heretofore  given  by  private  citizens  and  other 
organizations  to  public  school  needs: 

(1)  It   has   been   generally  assumed   that   schools 
were  doing  their  work  all  right  and  did  not  need 
help  from  the  outside 

(2)  Private  attention  is  more  easily  attracted  to 
public  nuisances  and  to  flagrant  and  pathetic 
cases  of  need  just  as  a  sore  finger  receives  more 
attention  than  the  other  nine  fingers 

(3)  Opportunities  for  cooperation  have  not  been 
disclosed  to   the  public  by   school  reports  and 
school  teachers 

(4)  Once  having  persuaded  the  school  to  put  in 
new  ideas  volunteers  have  assumed  that  these  new 
ideas  would  be  equitably  distributed  and  well  ad- 
ministered 

Don't  stop  with  pictures  and  fads.  They  are  not 
big  enough.  The  sanitary  conditions,  kind  of  in- 


COOPERATE  WITH  SCHOOLS         247 

struction,  efficiency  of  teacher  and  nurse,  physical  ex- 
amination for  defects,  happiness  of  school  environ- 
ment, cleanliness  of  air  and  buildings, —  are  all  sub- 
jects for  special  committees.  Write  to  your  State 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  for  the  story  of  work 
recently  done  by  national  and  state  federations 
through  their  educational  committees. 

For  the  story  of  New  York's  effort  to  get  a  basis 
in  fact  for  civic  cooperation  with  the  schools  and  for 
the  method  and  results  of  the  inquiry  into  school  ef- 
ficiency that  will  be  conducted  from  1911  through 
1913  by  the  city  government,  write  to  the  Bureau  of 
Municipal  Research,  261  Broadway. 

School  Health  and  Philanthropy 

It  is  one  of  the  anomalies  of  philanthropy  that  so 
much  attention  has  been  given  to  small  fractions  of 
the  child  population  and  to  small  fractions  of  the 
conditions  affecting  child  welfare. 

Two  gifts  have  recently  been  made  by  women  for 
ways  of  promoting  the  school  child's  health  that  merit 
emulation. 

After  seeing  how  inadequate  the  facilities  were  for 
removing  physical  defects  and  especially  for  attend- 
ing to  them,  Miss  Whitney  was  on  the  point  of  start- 
ing a  dental  dispensary.  She  finally  decided  that  in- 
stead of  helping  a  few  children  in  one  particular  place 
she  would  try  to  interest  a  large  number  of  private 
philanthropists  and  dentists  to  work  with  parents 
and  existing  agencies  to  promote  children's  health. 
She,  therefore,  gave  a  fund  of  $10,000  for  "  making 


248     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

known  everywhere  what  is  known  to  be  necessary 
everywhere  for  the  physical  welfare  of  school  chil- 
dren." That  fund  was  used  to  gather  facts  and  dis- 
tribute them  among  about  600  city  and  state  superin- 
tendents of  schools  and  the  newspaper  editors  of  the 
leading  cities  of  the  country.  Through  the  school 
officials,  newspapers  and  magazines,  interest  was 
aroused  that  reached  millions  of  adults  and  benefited 
millions  of  children.  The  work  thus  begun  will  go 
on  and  extend  from  the  momentum  of  local  interest 
and  local  benefits.  For  facts  regarding  this  work, 
address  the  New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research. 

Another  interesting  experiment  in  helping  school 
children  through  school  officials  is  that  of  Mrs. 
Robert  L.  Stevens  of  Hoboken,  N.  J.  She  wished  to 
establish  a  memorial  for  her  husband  and  had  in  mind 
first  a  gift  to  a  hospital  or  a  dispensary.  She  be- 
gan to  ask  herself  such  questions  as  these:  Do  I 
want  to  help  3%  or  100%  of  the  children  in  Ho- 
boken? Would  I  like  to  see  saved  80%  or  100%  of 
the  babies  of  Hoboken?  Would  I  like  to  cooperate 
with  5%  or  100%  of  the  citizens  of  Hoboken?  Of 
course,  she  was  compelled  to  answer  in  each  case 
100%  if  possible.  She  decided,  therefore,  to  estab- 
lish a  memorial  fund  for  Municipal  Research  in  Ho- 
boken which  should  work  in  cooperation  with  the  only 
Hoboken  agency  which  belonged  to  everybody,  i.  e., 
the  city  government. 

So  far  as  the  health  of  school  children  was  con- 
cerned the  principal  work  of  this  fund  was  to  sup- 
ply a  trained  nurse  in  September,  1910,  who  has 


WOMEN  ARE  HELPING  SCHOOLS     249 

rendered  the  kind  of  service  which,  in  the  future,  will 
insure  a  trained  nurse  paid  by  the  schools  to  interest 
Hoboken  mothers  to  have  removed  the  physical  de- 
fects discovered  at  school. 

What  Some  Chicago  Mothers  Are  Asking 

Is   the   air  in   your   child's   room   fresh  when  he 

enters,  and  is  it  changed  at  intervals? 
How  is  the  air  moistened,  if  at  all? 
Is  your  child's  seat  adjusted  to  his  size,  and  is  he 

placed  where  he  best  can  see? 
Is  your  child  permitted  to  exercise  and  enjoy  his 

recess  out  of  doors  ? 
Is  there  a  place  for  your  child  to  wash  and  dry  his 

hands  ? 

Does  your  child  still  use  a  slate? 
When  cleaning  does  the  janitor  use  moist  sawdust 

for  the  floors,  and  how  often  are  they  scrubbed, 

and  how  are  the  desks  cleaned  and  dusted  if  at 

all? 
Does  your  child  in  high  school  complain  that  his 

teacher  does  not  show  him  how  to  do  new  work, 

particularly  in  mathematics? 
In  dramatics  or  games  is  your  child  required  to 

lie  or  sit  down  on  the  dirty,  dusty  floor,  or  to 

exchange  paper  caps? 
Is  your  child's  school  on  a  street  car  line  so  that 

his  voice  is  strained  in  trying  to  overcome  the 

noise? 

What  the  Department  of  School  Patrons  of  the  Na- 
tional Education  Association  is  Asking 
About  School  Revenue 

How  is  the  revenue  for  school  purposes  obtained 
in  your  state? 


250     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Do  you  have  both  state  and  local  taxation  for 
school  purposes?  If  so  which  furnishes  the 
greater  part  of  the  revenue?  Do  you  approve 
the  plan? 

Is  the  present  revenue  sufficient  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  schools  ? 

How  are  you  securing  the  cooperation  of  school 
patrons  in  working  for  increased  school  reve- 
nue? 

What  Women's  Clubs  in  Oregon  are  Asking 

What  has  your  club  done  toward  improving  the 
health  of  your  school  children  (such  as  gardens, 
medical  inspection,  physical  instruction,  school 
lunches,  etc. )  ? 

To  bring  teachers  and  parents  into  closer  rela- 
tionship, and  uniting  their  interests? 

Toward  better  school  buildings  (sanitation,  equip- 
ment, adornment  and  libraries)? 

For  better  preparation   of  teachers? 

To  personally  inspect  the  school  buildings? 

To  evolve  a  plan  whereby  children  are  given 
credit,  on  their  report  card,  for  assistance  in 
household  work  done  at  home,  "  helping 
mother"? 

Toward  abolishing  the  drinking  cup  and  furnish- 
ing bubbling  fountains? 

Do  your  members,  as  a  rule,  attend  the  taxpayers' 
meeting  in  December? 

How  many  of  your  members  attended  the  annual 
school  meeting  last  June? 

What  one  thing  has  impressed  you  as  needing  our 
attention  and  help  ? 


WATCHING  SCHOOL  SANITATION 


Compulsory  Health  with  Compulsory  Education 
Whatever  doubts  we  may  have  about  the  teaching 
of  German  in  the  eighth  grade  or  of  manual  train- 
ing in  the  fourth  grade,  not  one  human  being  can 
possibly  believe  that  the  state  has  any  right  in  its 
program  for  universal  education  to  injure  the  health 
of  a  school  child,  to  keep  it  in  an  environment 
harmful  to  its  health,  or  to  fail  to  discover  where 
the  child's  health  is  below  normal.  This  prohibition, 
like  its  corollary,  adequate  health  protection  for  the 
school  child,  applies  just  as  much  to  the  school  child 
in  a  parochial,  charitable  or  private  school  as  to  the 
school  child  in  a  public  school. 

Watching  School  Sanitation 

The  ballot  is  not  a  sanitarian. 

Unsanitary  school  conditions  are  not  confined  to 
large  cities.  Therefore,  wherever  there  is  a  school 
building  there  is  something  for  a  woman's  visiting 
committee  to  do. 

Visit  schools  when  in  session  and  not  after  four 
o'clock  or  on  Saturdays  or  during  the  summer  time. 
Preferably,  too,  visits  should  be  paid  when  possible 
unsanitary  conditions  will  be  at  their  maximum. 
Windows  will  naturally  be  open  in  June;  therefore, 
ventilation  is  better  tested  in  January.  See  before 
schools  open  in  the  fall  whether  they  have  been 
properly  cleansed  and  ventilated. 


252     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Name  the  particular  room  where  floors  are  un- 
clean, the  particular  janitor  who  was  careless,  the  par- 
ticular ventilating  apparatus  that  does  not  work. 

Any  town,  any  mayor  or  any  school  board  will  re- 
ceive a  clearer  impression  from  a  discussion  of  100% 
of  the  school  rooms  than  from  complaint  against 
one. 

Nobody  will  defend  unsanitary  schools.  Few 
public  services  result  in  such  prompt  remedial  action 
as  attention  to  school  sanitation. 

Do  Rural  Schools  Need  Health  Supervision? 

One  school  of  120  children  benefited  as  follows 
from  finding  and  removing  physical  defects: 

The  pupils  are  in  better  health  generally; 
those  who  were  backward  are  making  up  for 
lost  time ;  there  are  not  so  many  backward  pupils 
to  take  an  undue  proportion  of  the  teacher's 
time;  there  has  been  emphasized  to  the  parents 
the  importance  of  caring  more  thoroughly  for 
the  health  of  their  children ;  indeed  the  work  of 
teachers  and  pupils, —  of  the  school  as  a  whole 
—  is  more  efficient.  .  .  .  There  has  been 
less  need  for  attention  to  physical  defects  be- 
cause of  the  work  done  last  year;  also  has  the 
physician  been  of  aid  in  preventing  the  spread 
of  contagious  diseases.  We  have  reached  the 
point  where  people  and  the  board  of  education 
would  hardly  be  willing  to  have  100  children 
meet  together  daily  without  the  attention  of  a 
physician  to  care  for  them  and  to  see  that  the 
taxpayers  are  getting  a  good  return  on  the 


HEALTH  INDEXES  AT  SCHOOL     253 

money  invested. —  Letter  from  Principal  Hutch- 
inson,  Pocantico  Hills. 

Reading  the  Health  Index  at  School 

Last  year  a  mother,  who  is  also  a  school  commis- 
sioner, came  to  me  after  a  public  meeting  where  I 
contrasted  interest  in  a  handful  of  children  within  a 
private  institution  with  interest  in  700,000  children 
in  the  public  schools  and  asked  what  she  could  do  for 
her  school  children.  I  then  prepared  some  ques- 
tions which  were  later  elaborated  for  the  National 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs.  I  tried  to  make  the 
next  steps  proposed  such  as  could  easily  be  taken  by 
women  or  men  wishing  to  be  of  immediate  help  in 
answering  three  questions:  (1)  What  does  the  child 
bring  to  school?  (2)  With  what  kind  of  environ- 
ment is  the  child  surrounded?  (3)  What  does  the 
school  do  to  the  child?  The  questions  and  brief  ar- 
gument accompanying  them  may  be  secured  by  writ- 
ing for  Efficient  Citizenship  No.  35,  Bureau  of  Mu- 
nicipal Research,  New  York  City. 

I  have  dealt  at  length  with  this  question  in  Civics 
and  Health  which  is  used  in  teachers'  reading  circles 
of  many  states.  An  extended  set  of  questions  which 
can  easily  be  answered  by  any  mother  or  any  woman's 
club,  are  given  in  Health  Index  of  Children  by  Dr. 
Ernest  Bryant  Hoag,  University  of  California. 

Many  indexes  are  in  the  child's  face, —  open 
mouth  for  mouth-breathing;  strained  or  inflamed 
eyes;  dirty,  irregular  and  decayed  teeth.  To  see 
that  teachers  know  how  to  read  this  index,  that  phy- 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

sicians  are  employed  for  reading  the  obscurer  signs, 
and  that  nurses  are  employed  to  interest  mothers, 
by  instructing  them,  in  removing  the  physical  defects, 
will  do  more  for  your  city  or  town  than  tens  of 
thousands  in  private  benefactions. 

Nine  out  of  ten  children  need  attention  to  teeth 
not  now  given.  Your  dentists  will  cooperate  in 
making  examinations  to  start  school  tests.  Everv- 
where  dental  clinics  are  needed.  To  achieve  clean 
teeth  for  a  nation's  children  would  bring  greater 
reforms  even  in  politics  than  votes  for  women. 

Play  at  School 

Is  there  sufficient  play  space  around  all  of  your 
school  buildings,  or  are  you  trying  to  compensate 
for  lack  of  play  space  at  school  by  "  playground 
movement "? 

It  is  unwise  use  of  the  enthusiasm  for  play  winch 
stirs  up  a  community  to  demand  a  playground  in 
some  congested  area  and  then  permits  it,  without 
protest,  to  erect  ten  or  fifty  school  buildings  on  sites 
where  there  will  be  no  play  space. 

The  objection  is  sometimes  made  to  play  space 
around  school  buildings  that  noise  on  school  grounds 
in  school  time  distracts  pupils.  There  is  no  reason, 
however,  why  this  should  prove  more  distracting  than 
street  railways  or  wagons  or  other  noises,  or  being 
without  play  space  and  having  to  go  blocks  and 
blocks  for  play.  It  is  better  to  have  noisy  grounds 
than  noisome  air  for  want  of  ventilation  that  comes 
only  from  free  space  near  school  buildings.  Any- 


FIND  100%  OF  THE  CHILDREN      255 

way,  noise  on  school  grounds  in  school  time  reflects 
on  the  discipline  not  on  the  play  space. 

The  point  to  keep  in  mind  is,  the  place  for  play 
space  is  where  children  are  and  not  some  place  which 
children  must  go  to.  No  indoor  play  space  or  roof 
garden  can  possibly  take  the  place  of  out  of  door 
play  space,  however  useful  on  stormy  days  and  how- 
ever commendable  where  it  is  impossible  or  not  feas- 
ible to  buy  land  around  a  school  building. 

The  spirit  of  play  is  as  important  as  play  space. 
Any  school  whose  discipline  is  such  that  children 
would  rather  get  away  from  it  than  stay  to  play 
needs  the  attention  of  women's  clubs. 

The  School  Census 

Is  an  annual  census  taken  of  children  who  ought 
to  be  in  your  public  schools,  or  elsewhere  at 
school  ? 

Is  there  a  permanent  record  kept  of  their  names  ? 

Are  the  names  on  long  sheets  or  on  individual 
cards  ? 

Does  your  woman's  club  study  this  census? 

How  much  state  money  do  your  schools  lose  be- 
cause children  of  school  age  are  either  not  regis- 
tered or  not  regular  in  attendance  ? 

Do  you  realize  that  a  child  has  the  right  to  be 
found  and  counted  and  placed  in  school,  as  well 
as  the  right  to  go  to  school? 

A  curious  form  of  graft  was  found  recently  in 
Philadelphia  where,  in  exchange  for  votes  by  parents 
at  election  time,  attendance  officers  allowed  children 
to  go  to  work  or  to  remain  out  of  school  contrary  to 
law. 


256     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

New  York  City  now  has  a  permanent  census  bureau 
with  headquarters  at  the  department  of  education. 

The  permanent  census,  properly  analyzed,  will 
always  tell  where  sites  are  needed,  where  more  rooms 
are  needed  and  where  the  attendance  officers  are  doing 
their  duty. 

The  school  population  figures  that  have  heretofore 
been  printed  are  useless,  first  because  different  states 
have  different  maximum  and  minimum  age  limits  and, 
second,  because  the  important  age  groups  are  not 
shown.  When  your  census  is  taken,  have  each  child's 
age  put  on  his  card,  then  total  the  number  of  chil- 
dren for  each  age  and  you  can  give  the  number  of 
kindergarten  age,  4  to  5 ;  the  number  who  may  go  to 
school  and  who  perhaps  should  be  in  school,  6  to  7; 
the  number  who  must  be  at  school,  8  to  13;  the 
number  who  will  do  well  to  remain  in  school,  14  to 
15;  and  the  number  who  will  do  as  well  outside  as 
mside  unless  they  are  ready  to  go  up  to  high  school, 
16-17  and  18-20. 

Watching  Effective  School  Attendance 

The  ballot  will  not  stop  irregular  attendance. 

If  a  man  goes  without  food  for  three  days  and  has 
three  meals  a  day  for  four  days  he  averages  for  the 
week  nearly  two  meals  a  day.  What  satisfaction 
would  that  average  be  to  a  man  confronting  three 
days  without  any  meals? 

If  nine  boys  go  to  school  200  days  each  and  one 
boy  goes  to  school  10  days,  the  average  attendance 
for  the  10  boys  is  181  days.  Yet  this  average  fails 


WHEN  ATTENDANCE  IS  EFFECTIVE     257 

to  state  the  important  fact  that  nine  of  these  boys 
did  not  miss  a  day  at  school  while  one  got  no  benefit 
whatever  from  going  to  school.  In  New  York  City's 
evening  high  schools  60,000  of  110,000  pupils  in 
1910  attended  less  than  60  evenings.  In  the  elemen- 
tary schools  12,000  of  77,000  or  nearly  one-sixth  at- 
tended for  less  than  one  week.  For  day  schools  no 
record  is  kept,  such  as  many  smaller  cities  require. 

How  many  days  children  attend  is  the  test  of  ef- 
fective attendance.  Records  should  show  those  who 
go  less  than  10  days,  those  who  go  from  11  to  20 
days,  from  21  to  40  days,  from  41  to  60  days  and 
so  on  up  to  200  days. 

In  tabulating  the  attendance  of  children  in  a  par- 
ticular school  it  would  be  worth  while  to  count  half 
days  because  half  day  absences  seriously  interfere 
with  the  progress  not  only  of  the  absentee  but  of  his 
class  mates. 

Watching  Non-Promotion  and  "Acceleration" 

The  ballot  does  not  learn  causes  of  non-promotion. 

Did  you  ever  fail  of  promotion  in  school? 

Were  you  ever  "flunked"  at  college? 

Do  you  know  how  many  children  in  your  public 
schools  were  not  promoted  last  year? 

Have  you  ever  computed  what  it  costs  your  city 
each  year  to  give  children  the  same  work  a  sec- 
ond time? 

Do  you  see  the  tragedy  of  losing  six  months  or  a 
year  by  being  held  back  unnecessarily? 

Do  you  see  how  a  non-promoted  child  may  inter- 
fere with  the  progress  of  a  fellow-pupil  doing 
work  for  the  first  time? 


258     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

It  is  quite  manifest  that  more  pupils  should  be  pro- 
moted each  term  than  are  promoted  at  present  and 
that  more  should  be  done  than  is  now  done  for  f/ur 
not-promoted.  While  this  was  written  of  110,000 
New  York  children  who  failed  January  31st,  1910, 
and  of  94,000  who  failed  June  30th,  1910  (after 
51,000  in  addition  to  graduates  had  dropped  out  of 
school  entirely),  it  applies  just  as  truly  to  most 
small  towns  as  to  large  cities. 

A  study  made  by  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Re- 
search shows  that  in  130  cities  children  not  promoted 
number  from  4%  to  17%.  Until  recently  it  has  been 
taken  for  granted  that  unless  20%  failed  the  school 
standard  must  be  too  low.  Wherever  laymen  or 
school  men  have  investigated  non-promotions,  how- 
ever, they  have  reached  three  conclusions: 

(1)  Many    children    drop   out   before    promotion 
time  and  do  not  appear  in  non-promotion  figures ; 

(2)  Many  children  are  held  back  who   ought  to 
go  forward; 

(3)  Many  other  children  who  go  forward  would 
do  better  if  held  back,  in  fact  there  are  those  who 
insist  that  acceleration   is   doing  as   much  harm   in 
large  city  schools  as  is  retardation. 

Do  not  confuse  the  two  ideas  of  non-promotion  and 
retardation.  Retardation  suggests  an  abnormal 
child  or  children  subject  to  abnormal  conditions  who 
are  behind  their  proper  grade  in  school.  Non-pro- 
motion relates  to  children  who,  at  a  particular  time 
supposedly  in  their  proper  grade,  fail  to  complete 
the  work  of  that  grade. 


CHARTING  SCHOOL  MORTALITY     259 


In  1891  Dr.  Emerson  E.  White,  then  of  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  made  a  study  of  promotions  in  70  cities. 
He  called  attention  then  both  to  non-promotion  mor- 
tality and  to  dropping  out  mortality  as  shown  in  the 
accompanying  diagram: 


s% 

6% 


10% 


15% 


30% 


40% 
50% 


60% 

75% 


85% 


90% 


100V. 


llth 
year 


10th  year 


9th  year 


8th  year 


7th  year 


6th  year 


5th  year 


4th  year 


3rd  year 


2nd  year 


1st    year 


SCHOOL  MORTALITY  AND  SCHOOL  SURVIVAL 


A  table  prepared  in   1890   to   show  how  few  children  in  Cleveland's 
(O.)    schools  advanced  to  upper  grades 

This  study  was  published  by  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Education  and  was  reviewed  in  the  Edu- 
cational Review  by  the  present  city  superintendent 
of  schools  for  New  York,  who  was  then  in  Brooklyn. 

Since  this  study  was  called  to  the  attention  of  the 
educational  world  over  100,000,000  non-promotions 
have  been  recorded  in  our  public  schools.  Yet  not 
until  1911,  twenty  years  after,  did  New  York  City 


260     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

begin  to  ask,  "  Which,  where,  how  many,  why  do 
children  fail  ?  "  Can  you  see  how  we  might  have 
saved  twenty  years? 

Thirteen  reasons  for  retardation  were  given  in 
1910  by  eight  committees  of  New  York  principals 
without  attempt,  however,  to  state  them  in  order  of 
importance  and  as  the  result  of  comparing  general 
impressions  without  counting  and  classifying  indi- 
vidual cases: 

Irregular  attendance;  truancy;  ignorance  of 
English;  late  entrance;  transfer  from  school  to 
school;  physical  defects;  sluggish  mentality; 
excessive  size  of  classes;  part  time. 

Prolonged  or  Frequent  Absences  of  Teachers,  dur- 
ing which  their  classes  are  taught  by  substitutes 
who  are  sometimes  indifferent  and  sometimes  in- 
efficient 

Varying  Standards  of  Rating  Pupils  —  Some  prin- 
cipals and  teachers  adopt  too  high  a  standard; 
some  too  low  a  standard 

Inefficient  Teaching,  due  to  teachers9  talking  and 
doing  too  much  for  their  pupils;  lack  of  tJwr- 
oughness;  obsolete  aims  and  methods  in  teach- 
ing on  the  part  of  some  of  the  older  teachers; 
occasional  lack  of  the  power  of  discipline;  neg- 
lect of  opportunity  afforded  by  the  study 
period  to  teach  children  how  to  study 

Improper  Methods  of  Promotion,  due  to  unneces- 
sarily holding  back  pupils;  not  making  pro- 
motions with  sufficient  frequency;  and  to  differ- 
ing standards  of  promotion 

Of  these  reasons  note  that  the  four  last  named  are 
entirely  within  the  control  of  the  superintendent  re- 
gardless of  conditions  outside  the  school. 


TESTS  OF  NON-PROMOTION 

For  the  most  adequate  short  statement  of  methoo!s 
used  by  progressive  superintendents  to  base  both  pro- 
motion and  non-promotion  on  the  individual  child's 
capacity  to  go  forward,  write  for  Efficient  Citizen- 
ship No.  4,16,  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research. 

If  you  will  both  chart  the  non-promotions  and 
compute  what  they  cost,  you  will  certainly  find  many 
ways  of  being  of  service  to  your  schools.  To  test 
effort  made  by  your  superintendent  and  principals 
ask  them : 

If  the  same  standards  of  promotion  are  used  by  all 
teachers 

If  pupils  are  promoted  for  their  ability  to  do  the 
advanced  work  or  for  their  proficiency  in  work 
past 

If  principals  see  pupils  before  marking  them  for 
non-promotions 

If  principals  require  from  teachers  written  explana- 
tions before  children  may  be  held  back 

If  the  superintendent  reads  these  explanations 

If  inefficiency  of  teaching  is  included  among  the 
causes  of  non-promotion 

If  there  are  special  "  catch  up  "  classes  for  children 
in  danger  of  failing 

If  in  the  absence  of  such  classes  special  attention 
is  given  to  pupils  in  danger  of  failing 

If  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  teachers 
promote  children  who  ought  to  be  held  back 

If  children's  failure  is  due  in  part  to  a  curriculum 
which  requires  the  impossible  of  both  teacher  and 
child 

If  as  in  New  York  in  1911  the  superintendent  re- 
fuses to  ask  questions  for  fear  teachers  and  prin- 
cipals will  not  tell  the  truth 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 


School  Mortality 

The  ballot  will  not  keep  children  in  school. 

In  New  York  City  51,000  children  dropped  out 
in  1910  between  September  and  June,  in  addition 
to  those  who  graduated  in  February.  In  many  cities 
teachers  must  learn  and  must  make  written  explana- 
tions of  the  reasons  why  each  child  drops  out  whether 
from  sickness,  leaving  town,  going  to  work,  indiffer- 
ence, etc. 

In  watching  for  school  mortality  be  sure  that  the 
regular  monthly  reports  not  only  compare  this  Jan- 
uary with  last  January  but  this  January  with  last  De- 
cember, last  November  and  last  September.  This 
January  is  always  going  to  be  larger  than  last  Janu- 
ary, and  unless  you  are  very  careful  this  January  will 
always  be  smaller  than  the  preceding  December  and 
November. 

Much  of  school  mortality  is  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
grades.  There  is  also  a  very  quick  drop  in  the  first 
year  of  high  school. 

In  your  own  schools  you  will  probably  be  sur- 
prised at  the  number  of  children  who  do  not  go  to 
school  enough  either  to  make  it  worth  their  while  or 
to  earn  your  state's  per  capita  grant. 

Self-Government  by  School  Children 

There  is  a  National  Society  for  Promoting  Pupil 
Self-Government  which  sends  out  literature  from  8 
WaU  Street,  New  York  City. 


PUPIL  SELF-GOVERNMENT          263 

Pupil  self-government  for  primary  and  secondary 
.grades  is  urged: 

1.  For  its  moral  effect  on  the  pupils 

2.  For  its  aid  to  school  discipline 

3.  For  its  improvement  in  the  attitude  of  teacher 
to  pupil 

4.  For  its  success  in  fitting  children  for  citizen- 
ship 

5.  For  its  success  in  developing  leaders  and  empha- 
sizing  the   elements   of   efficient   leadership   and 
followership 

Students  in  many  colleges  are  now  under  an  honor 
system  in  class  room  tests  which  is  extending  to 
student  government  in  other  matters.  For  informa- 
tion, address  Princeton  University,  Princeton,  N.  J., 
and  Bryn  Mawr  College,  Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 

A  woman  principal,  who  for  twelve  years  has  used 
the  home  and  help  idea  as  distinct  from  the  military 
and  punishment  idea,  maintains  that  pupils  govern 
themselves  best  if  adults  set  the  penalty  because 
"  children  are  frightfully  harsh  in  their  judgments." 
This  reminded  me  of  my  first  attempt  to  introduce 
pupil  self-government  in  a  Minnesota  school  after  a 
visit  to  the  state  reform  school  at  St.  Cloud.  Two 
of  the  steadiest  pupils  came  at  the  end  of  a  fort- 
night's test  and  asked  me  to  take  charge  again  on  the 
ground  that  they  found  themselves  wanting  to  do 
wrong  or  unnecessary  things  they  had  never  thought 
of  before.  Two  months  later  I  tried  again  success- 
fully with  two  military  companies,  which  contested 
for  first  place  in  the  honor  roll.  Merits  were 


264     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT! 

awarded  for  punctuality,  attendance,  deportment, 
proficiency  in  studies,  etc.  On  the  first  day  when  the 
village  incorrigible  got  through  the  whole  day  with 
no  demerit,  the  captain  of  the  opposing  company 
jumped  to  his  feet  and  said  his  company  would  be 
glad  to  award  fifty  merits  to  the  other  company  in 
honor  of  Willie  R.'s  achievement. 

What  form  of  discipline  rules  your  schools? 

Has  pupil  self-government  been  tried? 

To  what  is  its  failure  or  weakness  due? 

Which  of  the  five  above-mentioned  aims  predomi- 
nates ? 

Who  likes  or  dislikes  it  most, —  teacher,  principal 
or  pupil? 

Would  your  teachers  like  the  woman's  club  to 
secure  information  about  the  School  City  and 
other  forms  of  pupil  self-government? 

The  School  Course 

There  is  nothing  sacred  about  eight  years  for  the 
elementary  and  four  years  for  the  high  school  course. 
Yet  for  decades  school  men  have  been  bowing  to  that 
tradition. 

The  New  York  state  commissioner  of  education, 
Albany,  has  recommended  an  elementary  course  of 
six  years.  You  would  do  well  to  write  for  his  rea- 
sons for  believing  that  we  now  waste  two  years. 

For  results  of  an  experiment  with  150  boys  in 
shortening  the  school  course  while  increasing  its  prac- 
tical benefits,  write  to  the  New  York  Hebrew  Shel- 
tering Guardian  Society. 

Write  to  the  United  States  commissioner  of  edu- 


CHALLENGE  THE  CURRICULUM     265 

cation  at  Washington  and  your  state  superintendent 
for  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  present  earnest  discus- 
sion as  to  shortening  the  school  course. 

The  School  Curriculum 

Have  you  ever  noticed  how  sensitive  school  people 
are  about  their  curriculum  until  after  they  have 
changed  it,  and  then  how  anxious  they  are  for  you 
to  believe  that  the  new  curriculum  is  perfect? 

Radical  modifications  are  being  demanded  by 
school  journals  and  school  meetings  everywhere  and 
are  being  made  in  many  cities  and  states, —  Chicago, 
Philadelphia,  Cleveland,  Massachusetts.  Ask  your 
state  superintendent  and  the  United  States  commis- 
sioner for  the  latest  information.  If  your  town  is 
now  content  with  its  curriculum  the  probability  is 
that  there  is  something  wrong  with  the  curriculum. 

Until  the  curriculum  is  simplified  advanced  school 
men  will  reiterate  one  educator's  complaint : 

By  analyzing  school  courses  and  by  tracing 
the  influences  that  establish  them  and  now  main- 
tain them  we  see  that  our  schools  are  not 
patriotic  institutions  nor  public  servants,  nor 
workers  for  any  civic  purpose,  but  mere  pur- 
veyors of  courses  of  study  and  adherents  of  a 
system.  .  .  . 

Do  not  believe  for  one  minute  that  vocational 
schools,  trade  schools  and  industrial  schools  are  cures 
for  confused  curriculum,  extra  long  courses  or  in- 
efficient teaching. 


266     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

More  disappointing  than  disserviceable  subjects  in 
school  are  slovenly  taught  serviceable  subjects. 
There  is  nothing  less  cultural  than  slovenly  acquired 
smattering  of  so-called  "  culture  subjects."  Women 
can  contribute  to  solving  problems  of  the  school 
curriculum  by  asking  questions  which  bear  upon  the 
efficiency  of  individual  teachers  and  the  success  of 
individual  pupils.  They  can  see  that  "  genius  as 
well  as  mediocrity  will  have  a  chance."  They  can 
see  that  country  children  are  taught  what  country 
children  need,  not  what  city  schools  teach. 

Women  can  see  that  the  utmost  freedom  of  ex- 
pression is  permitted  teachers  so  that  defects  of  cur- 
riculum may  be  pointed  out.  They  can  see  that 
every  city  superintendent  has  the  results  of  the  1911 
inquiries  into  school  efficiency  for  Baltimore,  Cleve- 
land, Montclair,  New  York  City  and  St.  Louis. 

Choosing  and  Promoting  Teachers 

Voting  will  not  choose  efficient  teachers. 

Are  your  teachers  chosen  for  merit  alone? 

Are  they  promoted  for  merit  alone? 

Does  merit  depend  more  on  passing  marks  in  ex- 
aminations than  on  experience  ? 

What  shall  be  the  tests  of  experience  ? 

Shall  salary  increases  be  dependent  upon  efficient 
work  during  a  promotion  period? 

Shall  the  superintendent,  board  of  education  or 
independent  board  of  examiners  choose  teachers? 
Or  shall  a  state  board  accredit  teachers  for  any 
part  of  the  state? 

Is  it  practicable  to  apply  efficiency  tests  to  teachers 
throughout  the  year? 


TESTS  FOR  TEACHER  AND  BOARD  267 

"  Scoring  "  Teachers  for  Efficiency 
In  working  out  some  tests  for  teachers  in  connec- 
tion with  New  York  City's  salary  revision  inquiry  I 
was  amazed  to  have  the  question  suggested,  "  Does 
she  yell?  "  But  several  principals  insisted  upon  re- 
taining what  they  declared  was  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant tests. 

In  the  High  School  of  Commerce,  New  York,  Dr. 
J.  J.  Sheppard,  the  principal,  gets  a  rating  on  each 
teacher  with  respect  to  thirty  odd  points  under  eight 
general  heads :  teaching  ability ;  scholarship ;  conduct 
of  recitations ;  effort ;  initiative ;  personality ;  control 
of  class ;  departmental  work. 

For  state-set  tests  write  to  Indiana's  superintend- 
ent, Indianapolis. 

What  Should  School  Boards  Know? 

Being  named  on  a  school  board  does  not  increase 
one's  knowledge.  It  may  not  increase  one's  inter- 
est. Why  should  it  increase  one's  pretenses  or  one's 
willingness  to  talk  learnedly  about  education? 

What  school  boards  should  know  has  been 
touched  upon  in  many  other  paragraphs.  First  of 
all  they  should  know  about  their  own  efficiency. 

In  1910  the  local  school  boards  of  Manhattan  were 
called  together  by  Borough  President  McAneny. 
Several  conferences  were  held.  The  central  com- 
mittee is  now  working  out  a  standard  set  of  ques- 
tions which  board  members  should  answer. 

Members  of  local  school  boards  in  Manhattan  write 


268     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

that  one  or  more  note  the  following  when  they  visit 
schools : 

Sanitation;  janitor's  work;  cleanliness  of 
buildings;  yards;  toilets;  cellars;  lighting; 
heating ;  ventilation ;  fire  drills ;  fire  escapes ; 
morning  assemblies;  attendance;  methods  of 
teaching;  promptness;  discipline;  special  classes 
for  defectives;  examination  of  records;  re- 
pairs ;  medical  examination  of  children ;  ar- 
rangement of  lunch  rooms;  crowded  or  unfilled 
classrooms ;  care  of  outside  yards ;  playgrounds ; 
social  use  of  buildings. 

School  commissioners  cannot  see  enough  pupils  in  a 
week  or  enough  teachers  enough  of  the  time  to  reach  a 
sound  judgment  regarding  school  conditions.  They 
should  receive  current  reports  at  least  once  a  month 
about  what  is  happening  in  the  schools  which  indi- 
cate clearly  what  matters  need  their  attention.  They 
should  know  the  what,  how,  which  and  why  for  every 
request  for  funds. 

School  boards  throughout  the  country  are  begin- 
ning to  want  to  know  how  efficient  their  schools  are. 
A  new  profession  is  opening  up  to  school  analysts 
able  to  go  from  town  to  town  making  the  kind  of 
report  upon  school  efficiency  which  the  business  doc- 
tor makes  upon  the  management  of  railroads,  fac- 
tories or  hotels.  For  information  address  National 
Training  School,  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research, 
New  York. 

It  is  no  discredit  to  find  room  for  improvement. 


EASY  TO  GET  SCHOOL  NEWS       269 

It  is  discreditable  to  lack  curiosity  as  to  need  for 
improvement  or  to  resent  evidence  of  such  need. 

Publicity  of  School  Facts 
The  ballot  cannot  write  school  stories. 

Do  your  newspapers  like  to  tell  about  your  public 
schools  ? 

Do  they  treat  school  problems  as  well  as  school 
parties  and  games? 

Is  there  a  special  school  page  such  as  the  New 
York  Globe  prints  daily? 

Is  there  a  daily  school  column  or  weekly  page 
such  as  the  Brooklyn  Eagle  and  the  New  York 
Evenmg  Post  print? 

What  subjects  interest  more  people  in  your  com- 
munity than  your  public  schools? 

Do  the  schools  make  it  easy  for  newspapers  to  get 
school  stories? 

Are  there  photographic  illustrations  of  school  work 
which  can  be  used  by  newspapers? 

Does  your  superintendent  hold  all  of  the  interest- 
ing matter  for  his  annual  report,  thus  making 
it  impossible  for  newspapers  to  use  more  than 
a  brief  abstract? 

Are  monthly  statements  of  attendance  and  drop- 
ping out  given  to  the  papers? 

If  editors  find  it  easy  to  get  school  news  they  will 
publish  it.  Parents  are  glad  to  read  in  the  daily 
paper  of  their  children's  school  environment. 

The  only  reason  that  so  many  stories  about  educa- 
tion are  critical  and  superficial  is  that  school  men 
have  not  made  it  easy  to  discover  the  fundamentals  of 
school  problems. 


270     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  public  is  entitled  to  knowledge.  The  news- 
papers will  print  it.  The  only  thing  to  defeat  pub- 
licity of  school  facts  will  be  desire  on  the  part  of 
school  men  themselves  to  conceal  part  of  the  facts, 
to  advertise  themselves  or  to  make  newspapers  and 
magazines  do  all  the  work. 

A  Symposium  on  School  Reports 

The  superintendents  and  principals  of  Central 
Pennsylvania  in  March,  1911,  gave  two  days  to 
school  records  and  reports.  The  clear  and  public 
spirited  aim  of  this  conference  is  shown  in  the  first 
two  of  thirteen  topics : 

I.  Need   and   importance    of   records:     (1)   To 
make  a  full  and  accurate  report  to  the  board 
and   the   community,    the    state    school    depart- 
ment, and  the  federal  bureau  of  education  (2) 
To  furnish  a  basis  of  comparison  so  that  prog- 
ress may  be  tested  (3)   To  prevent  waste  and 
fraud  (4)  To  present  statistics  of  education  or 
other  social  phenomena  (5)  To  furnish  informa- 
tion to  administrative  staff  of  schools   (6)   To 
give  publicity  to  school  affairs  (7)  To  advertise 
the  needs   of  the   schools    (8)   To  secure  to   a 
greater  extent  the  efficiency  of  the  schools  (9) 
To  test  the  superintendent's  efficiency  and  tlie 
soundness  of  his  methods 

II.  Features   of  good  records:     (1)  They   must 
give  terms,  and  definitions  of  terms   (2)   They 
must  be  accurate  (3)  They  must  be  intelligible 
to  the  lay  reader  (4)   They  must  be  complete 
(5)  They  must  be  about  essential  matters  (6) 
They  must  permit  of  being  quickly  and  easily 


CIVIC  INSTRUCTION  271 

made  (7)  They  must  secure  certain  results  auto- 
matically (8)  They  must  permit  of  being  pre- 
sented graphically  at  times  (9)  They  must  be 
cumulative  in  case  of  records  of  pupils 

Civic  Instruction  Through  Public  Schools 

The  ballot  cannot  give  civic  instruction. 

The  public  school  is  just  as  potent  for  civic  mis- 
education  as  for  civic  education;  an  unclean  school 
atmosphere  is  not  only  a  nonconductor  of  clean  air 
precept,  but  an  active  conductor  of  disease  and 
enervation. 

No  system  of  moral  instruction  in  schools  can  ever 
offset  the  anti-moral  conduct  of  those  schools  which 
neglect  the  health  of  school  children  and  school 
teachers,  waste  teacher's  time,  child's  opportunity  and 
taxpayer's  money,  or  set  a  bad  example  to  other 
public  agencies  by  claiming  immunity  for  mistakes 
and  exemption  from  criticism. 

The  educational  influence  of  the  school,  like  that 
of  the  individual  whom  it  wishes  to  prepare  for  citi- 
zenship, is  to  be  measured  by  what  it  does  and  gets 
done,  rather  than  by  what  it  says  and  hopes. 

To  test  the  school's  work  for  civic  betterment,  one 
must  learn  the  result  of  three  distinct  kinds  of  civic 
education  which  it  is  under  obligation  to  give : 

(1)  Training  of  individuals,  (2)  training  of 
voluntary  groups  for  efficient  team  work  in  promot- 
ing public  welfare,  and  (3)  training  of  individuals 
and  groups  to  procure  proper  official  action  in  pro- 
moting public  welfare. 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  following  first  steps  are  suggested  to  local 
schools  wishing  to  increase  their  power  for  civic  edu- 
cation : 

1.  Ask  for  a  state  law  on  medical  examination  of 
all    children,   teachers,    janitors,    buildings    and 
grounds  in  all  school  districts,  public,  parochial, 
private,  rural  and  urban 

2.  Teach  personal  hygiene  by  relating  it  to  com- 
munity hygiene 

3.  Keep  your  communities  continuously  informed 
in  regard  to  health  needs  indexed  at  school 

4.  Realize    that    every    parent    interested   adds    a 
teacher  to  your  staff 

5.  Give  your  newspapers  school  stories  and  thus 
add  25%  to  the  efficiency  of  your  teaching  staff 

6.  Make  private  agencies  supplement  school  work, 
instead  of  supplementing  their  work 

7.  Make  your  schools  the  center  of  social  settle- 
ment work  and  uplift  work  in  your  communities 

8.  Recognize  that  it  is  just  as  educational  to  in- 
terest the  board  of  education  and  the  voluntary 
visiting  committee  as  to  instruct  a  child 

9.  Provide   for   civic   and   health   work   by    your 
school  organizations 

10.  Take  advantage  of  budget  season  to  tell  100% 
of  school  and  health  needs  and  to  interest  100% 
of  your  community  in  that  story 

11.  Welcome  complaints  and  questions  as  oppor- 
tunities for  civic  education 

12.  Make  more  demands  upon  your  state  depart- 
ment of  education  and  give  it  better  support 

13.  Write  your  congressmen  and  senators  to  give 
the  United  States  bureau  of  education  enough 
work  and  enough  money 

14.  Cooperate   with  the  National   Education  As- 


STATE  SCHOOL  OFFICERS  273 

sociation's    special    committee   on   uniform   and 
adequate  records  and  reports 

State  Departments  of  Education 

The  commissioner  of  education  in  Massachusetts 
has  a  faculty  of  11,000  teachers  and  a  registry  of 
575,000  pupils,  or  twelve  times  as  many  teachers 
and  seventy-five  times  as  many  pupils  as  Harvard 
University,  Williams,  Smith  and  Wellesley  Colleges 
combined.  Yet  so  perverse  is  our  thinking  about 
public  service  that  it  is  still  considered  a  greater  dis- 
tinction to  be  president  of  a  college  with  30  teachers 
and  300  students  than  to  be  head  of  a  state  school 
system. 

Compare,  please,  the  significance  of  your  state 
superintendent's  work,  his  mail,  his  weekly  contact, 
the  problems  he  must  face,  the  spending  which  he 
must  influence,  the  lives  for  whose  shaping  he  is 
largely  responsible,  with  the  work  of  the  greatest 
minister  you  know  or  the  greatest  college  president 
or  even  the  governor  of  your  state. 

Try  then  to  understand  why  it  is  that  you  have 
given  so  little  thought  in  the  past  to  the  office  of 
state  supervisor  of  education. 

What  is  his  salary? 

What  is  his  term  of  office? 

Is  he  elected  or  is  he  appointed? 

Do  educators  look  up  to  him? 

Does  he  need  and  deserve  your  support? 

What  does  his  office  cost  each  year? 

How  many  assistants  has  he? 

How  many  assistants  ought  he  to  have? 


274     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

What  annual  budget  ought  he  to  have? 

Do  you  agree  with  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for 
the  Advancement  of  Teaching  that  such  places 
"  should  be  of  such  dignity  and  security  as  to 
attract  the  best  men  "? 

If  the  state  superintendent's  reports  are  not  inter- 
esting they  can  be  and  should  be.  If  he  fails  to 
show  how  the  schools  of  your  town  or  county  are 
doing,  he  can  be  interested  in  giving  this  informa- 
tion. For  he  should  not  only  report  these  facts  to 
you  with  similar  facts  for  nearby  cities  or  other  cities 
of  the  same  size,  but  he  should  make  it  necessary  for 
your  city  superintendent  to  give  you  the  facts  also 
with  schools  of  a  kind  ranked  with  respect  to  princi- 
pal tests. 

A  new  era  is  at  hand  for  state  departments  of  edu- 
cation. When  Professor  David  S.  Snedden  left 
Teachers'  College  to  become  commissioner  of  educa- 
tion in  Massachusetts,  many  leading  educators  de- 
clared he  was  going  to  a  greater  educational  post 
than  any  college  in  the  country.  State  superintend- 
ents are  beginning  to  recognize  that  they  are  forces  to 
be  reckoned  with  not  only  in  directing  public 
schools,  but  in  shaping  public  sentiment  respecting 
schools  and  government.  Their  terms  should  be  at 
least  six  years,  they  should  be  appointed  not  elected, 
and  chosen  for  educational  efficiency  not  good  looks, 
eloquence  or  party  connections. 

There  is  a  growing  general  demand  among  second- 
ary elementary  schools  for  "  freedom  from  college 
domination."  The  conferences  of  the  state  superin- 


USE  STATE  SCHOOL  REPORTS       275 

tendents  called  by  United  States  Commissioner  Elmer 
E.  Brown  have  been  an  important  factor  in  empha- 
sizing the  right  of  elementary  and  secondary  schools 
to  comparison  first  with  their  own  task  of  fitting  boys 
and  girls  for  citizenship. 

Write  to  the  United  States  bureau  of  education, 
Washington,  for  reports  of  these  conferences  and  to 
your  state  superintendent  for  his  part  in  these  con- 
ferences and  his  programme  for  the  development  of 
his  office.  Perhaps  the  Carnegie  Foundation  would 
send  you,  or  at  least  to  your  public  library,  its  fifth 
annual  report  containing  the  latest  word  on  "  the 
relations  of  colleges  and  secondary  schools." 


276     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 


. 

El                                        <*! 

—  1                             cSI             ^1 

-      si             2 
S        '             ^ 
el 

1 

• 

.J 

ii 

luperintei 

YWHERE 

z 

l   1 

Ul 

o 

CO 

^o   > 
**"    * 

ui 

ft 

K 

z 

3 

5§   £ 

3 

2| 

|%    i 

0 

to 

X 

H 

CL 

1|    | 

•••• 

Ul 

Z 
Ul 

O 

CO 

*- 

0 

CO 

»  "S. 

OS 

5 

^m 

0 

UJ 

z 

u 

_     G 

•••• 

UJ 

P 

< 

U 

fto    K 

ft 

O 

a. 

a 

u. 
Ul 

~s  ?    = 

x 

a 

o 

i- 

a 

•••V 

CO 

^^ 

z 

f^ 

^  ° 

tol 
0 

g 

o 

to. 

I  f  6 

•••• 

^ 

^ 

o          ® 

O 

z 

Z 

CO 

^      i5 

STEPS 

IN 

MEDICAL 

i 

X 

•••• 

<L 
X 

Ul 

••• 

[  ExAMINATlO 

CO 
Ul 

a 
o 
z 
u 
CD 

i  g 

H 

t 

Ul 

•MM 

XI 


WHERE  "  POLICE  GRAFT  "  LURKS  OR 
FLAUNTS 


Tests  of  Public  Decency 

Yes      No      Is  there  open  gambling  in  your  city? 

Does  vice  flaunt  itself  in  public  places  ? 

Is  the  alliance  of  vice  and  police  notori- 
ous ? 

Are  drunken  men  and  women  permitted 
on  the  streets? 

Are  streets  chronically  unclean? 

Is  spitting  in  public  permitted? 

Is  it  considered  respectable  for  men  to 
leer  at  women  ? 

Is  rowdyism  or  quarreling  tolerated? 

Are  under  age  children  permitted  to  sell 
papers  or  other  articles,  to  go  into 
saloons,  or  to  go  to  and  from  factory 
toil? 

Are  officials  and  employes  offensive  in 
their  dealings  with  the  public? 

If  your  answer  to  each  of  these  questions  is  no, 
it  does  not  follow  that  there  is  no  vice  or  gambling 
or  indecency  in  your  city.  It  does  show,  however, 
that  offences  against  public  decency  are  "under 
control." 

A  high  death  rate  of  infants  is  really  more  in- 
decent than  open  gambling  houses,  but  as  men  and 
women  are  made  there  is  little  hope  of  successfully 
fighting  against  unnecessary  infant  sickness  in  any 
community  that  permits  open  gambling  and  flagrant 
vice. 

Suburban  communities  tolerate  offenses  that  are 
279 


280     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

censured  and  outlawed  in  large  communities.  One 
reason  is  that  evil  does  not  seem  so  great  when  stated 
in  smaller  numbers.  Another  reason  is  that  women 
or  men  who  object  to  nuisances  cannot  so  easily  con- 
ceal their  identity  in  small  towns  as  in  large  cities. 
For  the  same  reason,  of  course,  the  offenders  cannot 
conceal  their  identity,  and  will  desist  if  sustained 
publicity  is  given  their  offenses. 
Voting  does  not  insure  decency. 

Are  You  Ashamed  of  Your  Public  Corrections? 

There  is  a  lot  more  in  names  than  Juliet  thought. 

When  we  talked  of  jails  the  main  purpose  of  our 
public  corrections  was  to  keep  dangerous  criminals 
locked  up  to  punish  them  and  to  protect  society. 
Penitentiary  was  a  step  beyond  jail  because  it  im- 
plied that  people  doing  penance  would  finally  get 
sorry  enough  to  avoid  a  repetition. 

Corrections  is  quite  modern  and  implies  an  obli- 
gation on  the  part  of  society  not  to  punish,  not  to 
encourage  the  penitent,  not  to  protect  society  for  the 
period  of  sentence,  but  to  bring  about  a  change  in 
the  persons  sentenced,  which  will  correct  them,  their 
attitude,  their  sense  of  responsibility  and  their  con- 
duct. Thus  while  we  have  a  prison  congress,  we  are 
now  establishing  everywhere  departments  of  correc- 
tion, state  boards  of  charities  and  correction,  national 
conferences  of  correction,  etc.  For  children  we  are 
substituting  industrial  school  for  reform  school. 

To  study  the  criminal  or  offender  is  not  very 
profitable  for  most  of  us  because  we  do  not  know 


TESTS  OF  PUBLIC  CORRECTIONS     281 

enough  about  human  pyschology  to  understand  in- 
dividual offenders.  Any  woman  can,  however,  learn 
what  is  being  done  in  her  name  to  and  for  offenders 
by  the  public  corrections  of  her  community. 

Is  character  broken  down  by  idleness,  by  unsani- 
tary conditions,  by  brutal  treatment,  by  care- 
less discipline? 

Are  penniless  men  sent  out  from  correctional  in- 
stitutions to  earn  their  living,  not  only  without 
references  but  without  friendly  interest? 

Is  your  method  of  doing  general  public  business, 
buying  goods,  leasing  property,  issuing  licenses, 
such  that  you  are  encouraging  those  inside  and 
outside  of  government  to  take  chances  and  to 
commit  offenses? 

Are  those  in  charge  of  prisons,  penitentiaries  and 
reformatories  trying  to  hold  down  good  polit- 
ical jobs  or  to  help  society  and  to  correct  of- 
fenses ? 

If,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  mistaken  leniency  or 
corrupt  leniency  causes  judges  to  pardon  young 
women  or  to  send  them  back  to  their  old  environ- 
ment under  probation  instead  of  sending  them  to  a 
reformatory  presided  over  by  a  refined  woman  able 
to  study  them  and  to  give  them  new  strength  and 
habits,  women's  clubs  can  make  the  truth  so  gener- 
ally known  that  either  such  magistrate  will  change 
his  habits  or  the  town  will  change  its  magistrate. 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 


What  is  Your  Part  in  Public  Corrections? 

Procedure  in  treating  crime  is  reflected  in  the 
newspaper  discussion  of  crime  and  in  the  most  in- 
sidious way  affects  the  standard  of  every  adolescent. 

To  an  extent  that  few  mothers  realize  jails  bring 
up  their  children.  What  is  the  effect  on  the  grow- 
ing generation  when  they  read  that  a  judge  sen- 
tenced two  men  to  two  weeks  each  in  a  penitentiary 
for  bringing  white  slaves  into  the  United  States 
•from  Canada?  Where  else  but  from  the  jails  for 
which  their  mothers  and  fathers  were  responsible 
could  the  thirty  boys  and  girls  of  a  Junior  Republic 
have  gotten  the  idea  that  the  erection  of  a  jail  with 
ten  cells  was  a  great  achievement?  When  I  asked 
the  sheriff  if  the  jail  had  been  a  success  he  replied: 
"  Success,  well  I  should  think  !  Why,  a  week  ago 
last  Saturday  night  the  only  fellow*  m  the  Repub- 
lic who  were  not  in  that  jail  were  the  jailer  and  my- 
,elf." 

A  gang  of  striped  convicts  on  a  southern  highway 
debases  the  passers-by  more  than  the  convict.  In  the 
reaction  against  such  debasement  unconsciously 
millions  of  men  and  women  have  lately  adopted  a 
maudlin,  sentimental  point  of  view  with  regard  to 
offenders  which  seriously  interferes  with  protecting 
society  against  crime.  How  can  anyone  who 
honestly  believes  "  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  bad 
boy  "  help  blaming  environment  largely  for  badness 
in  men  and  women? 


DOES  JUSTICE  DO  INJUSTICE?      283 

The  success  of  rich  criminals  in  evading  the  law 
weakens  the  moral  sense  of  all  who  know  of  it  and 
deadens  the  sensibilities  of  those  who  commit  petty 
instead  of  major  offenses.  A  check  to  public  re- 
vulsion in  favor  of  the  criminal  was  recently  given 
by  President  Taft  when  he  refused  to  release  from 
a  sentence  of  imprisonment  a  rich  man  convicted 
under  the  law  against  peonage. 

It  is  worth  while  to  have  singing  services  in  jails 
and  prisons.  It  is  far  more  important,  however, 
to  have  clean  jails  and  prisons,  to  be  sure  that  no- 
body goes  there  who  ought  not  to  go  there  and  to  be 
sure  that  those  who  leave  go  to  a  chance  to  live  an 
honest  life. 

Does  Justice  do  Injustice? 

Ballots  do  not  administer  justice. 

My  first  personal  acquaintance  with  women's  clubs 
was  at  a  meeting  of  a  mothers'  congress  in  New 
Jersey.  I  told  them  I  was  pleased  to  know  there 
were  mothers  in  New  Jersey  because  I  had  been 
visiting  a  number  of  jails  which  had  conditions  that 
should  have  been  impossible  with  mothers  near. 

For  example,  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  state  federation  of  women's  clubs  a  lit- 
tle girl  ten  years  old,  was  found  sitting  on  the  lap  of 
a  prostitute  in  a  cell  with  two  women  on  trial  for 
murder  and  several  dissolute  women. 

At  another  jail  within  a  stone's  throw  of  a  state 
W.C.T.U.  meeting,  I  found  a  woman  in  evening 


284     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

clothes  who  had  been  in  this  jail  attended  by  male 
attendants  for  ten  weeks.  She  was  held  as  a  wit- 
ness against  three  men  alleged  to  have  drugged  her 
and  left  her  by  the  road  side.  Nobody  was  trying 
to  find  these  men. 

A  citizen  wishing  to  photograph  some  private 
encroachments  on  public  property  was  attacked  by 
the  encroachers,  kicked,  made  unconscious,  and  later 
carried  to  a  hospital  by  a  policeman.  Another 
policeman,  after  calling  the  ambulance,  arrested  the 
offending  parties.  When  the  case  came  to  trial,  the 
offenders,  backed  by  political  influence,  testified  that 
the  citizen  had  attacked  them  with  his  camera.  The 
police  officer  testified  to  the  same  result.  The  judge 
was  indignant  and  asked,  "  Why  then  did  you,  an 
eye  witness  to  this  assault,  arrest  the  wrong  man  ?  " 

Justice  does  injustice  when  innocent  parties  are 
persuaded  to  plead  guilty  by  a  prosecuting  attor- 
ney or  a  policeman  who  promises  "  to  get  them  off 
easy  "  if  they  in  turn  will  help  swell  the  efficiency 
record  of  prosecuting  officers.  In  one  morning 
I  heard  two  men  answer  charges  in  court  as  follows: 
"  Guilty,  Your  Honor,  but  I  don't  know  anything 
about  it,"  and  "  Guilty,  Your  Honor,  but  I  was  not 
there." 

Fear  that  society  has  been  administering  its  jus- 
tice in  an  unjust  way  has  lately  stimulated  a  senti- 
mental interest  in  offenders  against  society.  It  is 
to-day  easier  to  raise  money  for  a  work  connected 
with  public  jails  and  prisons  than  for  work  con- 


SENTIMENTAL  JUSTICE  285 

nected  with  the  public  schools.  The  danger  of  this 
sentimental  justice  is  treated  elsewhere.  It  is  im- 
portant to  be  sure  that  the  way  in  which  we  befriend 
a  criminal  does  not  encourage  crime  and  inflict  in- 
justice upon  those  who  are  not  offenders  against  the 
law. 

Every  city,  county  and  state  should  have  an  or- 
ganization whose  business  it  is  to  know  whether  justice 
does  injustice.  Inspection  should  go  beyond  places 
of  confinement  to  the  way  in  which  police  depart- 
ments are  managed  and  particularly  to  the  way  in 
which  police  magistrates  bring  out  the  facts  before 
pronouncing  judgment. 

What  society  does  to  the  burglar  is  generally 
worse  than  what  the  burglar  does  to  society.  We 
can  probably  never  arrange  things  so  that  somebody 
will  not  be  tempted  to  burglarize,  but  we  certainly 
can  make  sure  that  what  we  do  to  the  burglar  is  for 
society's  benefit  and  his  benefit  and  not  for  the  in- 
jury of  either. 

Conditions  can  be  sanitary.  The  bed  and  food  can 
be  clean.  We  can  give  prisoners  profitable  work 
instead  of  supporting  them  in  idleness.  We  can 
prevent  gambling  and  the  use  of  liquor.  We  can 
prevent  discrimination  between  those  who  have 
money  or  friends  with  money  and  those  who  have  not. 
We  can  make  conditions  stimulate  rather  than  stifle 
self-respect. 


286     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Several  Kinds  of  Probation 

Ballots  do  not  supervise  probation. 

Probation  for  offenders  against  the  law  is  not 
new.  The  new  thing  is  probation  with  supervision. 

The  new  probation  starts  with  the  assumption 
that  by  violating  the  law  the  offender  places  himself 
in  the  class  of  suspects.  The  burden  of  proof  is  on 
him.  He  cannot  be  trusted  until  he  has  proved  him- 
self trustworthy.  He  is  not  less  dangerous  because 
he  is  able  to  pay  a  fine.  We  say  to  him,  therefore: 
"  We  permit  you  to  go  freely  among  other  people 
with  the  understanding  that  during  the  next  six 
months  or  two  years  you  keep  giving1  us  evidence 
not  merely  that  you  are  not  repeating  your  offense, 
but  are  living  and  working  as  you  ought." 

Putting  a  man  on  probation  is  not  probation. 
Having  a  man  go  to  the  probation  officer  once  a 
month  is  not  supervision.  The  probation  officer 
should  know  where  the  probationer  is,  what  he  does, 
what  his  employer  thinks  of  him.  Getting  adults 
and  children  back  into  the  current  of  normal  living 
is  the  only  probation  worth  while. 

Probation  is  a  fruitful  means  of  corruption  when 
not  periodically  tested.  It  is  a  bother  to  the  pro- 
bationer to  be  looked  up  by  some  officer  or  to  go  to 
the  officer  once  a  month.  No  one  likes  to  feel  that 
his  freedom  of  action  is  restricted.  Still  probation  is 
very  much  more  comfortable  than  the  penitentiary. 
Therefore,  those  who  have  the  money,  or  can  raise  the 
money,  are  willing  to  pay  something  to  keep  out  of 


ALWAYS  SUPERVISE  PROBATION     287 

jail  and  to  get  under  probation  without  the  trouble 
of  being  interfered  with  or  worried  by  questions. 

Every  court  that  has  to  do  with  criminals  should 
employ  the  principle  of  probation  under  supervision 
and  should  absolutely  give  up  probation  without 
supervision. 

Where  there  are  many  convictions  the  probation 
officer  will  save  the  county  in  jail  bills  and  in  fines 
paid  by  installments,  much  more  than  he  will  cost. 

In  trying  to  get  a  probation  officer  appointed, 
compute  the  money  saved  first.  Then  having  re- 
moved the  money  objections  you  can  overwhelm  op- 
position by  having  all  the  moral  arguments  on  your 
side. 

Probation  should  not  mean  extenuation  or  maudlin 
denial  of  the  existence  of  a  willingness  in  many  of  us 
to  violate  the  law  as  a  means  of  getting  something 
the  law  forbids. 

An  ex-convict  who  had  spent  fifteen  years  in  vari- 
ous prisons  once  came  to  my  office  to  secure  a  loan. 
While  talking  he  noticed  the  book,  Crime  and  Social 
Progress  by  Arthur  Cleveland  'Hall,  which  argues 
that  social  progress  inevitably  increases  the  number 
of  possible  offenses  against  society.  He  asked  me 
if  he  might  read  the  book,  which  he  took  home  and 
annotated  by  way  of  an  autobiography  which  was 
"strong"  for  environment  and  against  criminal 
tendencies  as  a  cause  of  crime.  I  was  interested  in 
him  and  told  his  story  to  a  wholesale  woolen  merchant 
who  replied:  "Well,  I  suppose  the  point  of  this  is, 
you  would  like  me  to  give  this  man  employment  in 


288     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

my  business."  I  said  "Yes."  He  answered: 
"  Well  if  it  is  all  the  same  to  you  I'd  rather  support 
him  on  the  outside  rather  than  on  the  inside  of  my 
store."  Later  events  proved  the  wisdom  of  his  con- 
clusion. 

The  point  is  this :  It  is  not  honest  to  overlook  the 
fact  that  in  the  very  process  of  developing  men  of 
different  talents  and  varied  interests  we  are  also  pro- 
ducing varied  opportunities  to  benefit  from  our 
neighbor's  carelessness  or  inferiority.  With  each 
opportunity  will  grow  next  year  as  there  grew  five 
thousand  years  ago  the  instinct  to  take  advantage 
of  that  opportunity.  Of  those  who  to-day  are  sin- 
cere in  their  regard  for  their  neighbor's  rights,  many 
will  to-morrow  take  advantage  of  their  neighbor's 
weaknesses. 

Inefficient  probation  can  be  a  school  for  crime  as 
well  as  an  inefficiently  managed  jail.  Once  when 
trying  to  promote  probation  work  as  a  substitute  for 
county  jails  I  found  a  seventeen-year-old  girl  in  a 
jail  among  a  lot  of  women  who,  at  the  time  of  my 
visit,  were  drinking'  liquor  and  smoking  cigarettes. 
There  was  a  woman  she  could  live  with  if  she  got  out 
and  she  would  be  glad  to  get  out  under  probation.  I 
went  at  once  to  the  county  probation  officer,  visited 
the  mayor  who  had  committed  her  and  the  woman 
who  was  willing  to  give  her  shelter.  If  the  incident 
had  stopped  there  I  would  have  been  able  to  tell  one 
of  the  stories  such  as  characterize  much  of  our  litera- 
ture about  probation  and  crime.  A  few  days  after, 
however,  the  mayor  wrote  me  that  he  had  investigated 


FACTS  AS  TO  PROBATION          289 

this  home  to  which  I  had  wanted  the  girl  sent  and 
found  that  it  was  a  house  of  assignation ! 

Has  your  state  a  law  permitting  or  compelling 
the  criminal  courts  to  use  probation  officers? 

Have  the  courts  appointed  such  probation  officers? 

Are  the  probation  officers  salaried  or  volunteers? 

Are  records  used  so  as  to  show  whether  probation 
is  helping  society  and  the  probationer? 

Does  the  judge  probate  without  fines  or  plus  fines? 

Does  he  permit  the  payment  of  fines  by  install- 
ments ? 

Are  the  probation  officers  appointed  for  their 
ability  to  do  probation  work  or  for  political  in- 
fluence ? 

Is  the  basis  of  probation  work  emotion  or  fact? 

Do  the  judges  use  the  probation  officers  to  help 
them  bring  out  the  facts  during  the  trial  or 
merely  after  sentence? 

How  much  has  probation  decreased  the  total 
number  of  sentences  to  county  jails  or  peniten- 
tiaries ? 

By  how  much  have  the  total  fines  collected  either 
increased  or  decreased? 

Do  you  see  why  no  system  of  volunteer  Big 
Brothers  or  Big  Sisters  can  take  the  place  of 
efficient  brothering  and  sistering  by  teacher,  at- 
tendance officer,  judge  and  probation  officer? 

The  Children's  Court 
Ballots  do  not  mismanage  children's  courts. 
Every  court  that  applies  the  criminal  law  should 
have  special  provision  for  hearing  why  children  have 
been   arrested  and  for   considering  what  should  be 
done. 


290     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

If  there  is  not  business  enough  to  warrant  a 
special  court  for  children  there  should  be  a  special 
time  for  hearing  children.  The  probation  officer 
instead  of  being  called  in  after  the  child  is  commit- 
ted to  his  care,  should  be  used  by  the  court  to  find 
out  facts  about  the  child,  his  home  and  his  tempta- 
tions as  a  means  of  helping  the  court  to  help  the 
child.  Nothing  can  interfere  more  with  the  suc- 
cess of  juvenile  court  work  than  the  assumption  by  a 
judge  that  he  can,  in  a  few  minutes,  by  questioning 
and  frightening  or  flattering  the  child  and  his  sensi- 
tive parents,  learn  enough  about  that  child  and  his 
parents  to  make  an  intelligent  decision  regarding 
the  necessary  treatment. 

Sometimes  it  pays  to  fine  parents  themselves. 
Some  courts  ask  parents  to  "  spank "  children  in 
court. 

Some  courts  hold  only  private  sessions  with  chil- 
dren, others  talk  privately  at  their  desk  in  the  court 
room  before  a  large  number  who  witness  what  are 
often  distressing  scenes. 

No  juvenile  court  can  be  a  success  which  encour- 
ages the  child  to  believe  that  it  is  somebody  else's 
fault  if  he  does  under  concealment  what  he  has  the 
intelligence  not  to  do  when  people  are  looking. 

While  it  is  probably  true  that  children  under  16 
ido  not  fully  comprehend  the  social  significance  of 
wrong  steps  any  better  than  do  most  men  and  women 
of  60,  an  analysis  of  the  charges  made  against  chil- 
dren shows  that  in  almost  all  cases  the  boys  and 
girls  knew  they  were  doing  something  that  would 


LESS  WORK  FOR  JUVENILE  COURTS     291 

cause  trouble  or  serious  annoyance  or  possible  pain 
to  one  or  more  neighbors. 

Interest  in  the  juvenile  court  can  never  atone  for 
neglecting  the  public  school  and  its  truancy  work. 
It  is  one  of  the  anomalies  of  so-called  woman's  work 
to-day  that  it  has  given  vastly  more  attention  to  the 
small  fraction  of  boys  and  girls  who  come  into  a 
juvenile  court  for  punishment  than  to  the  100%  of 
boys  and  girls  who  need  better  school  buildings,  bet- 
ter opportunities  for  instruction,  more  opportunities 
for  play,  compulsory  education  laws,  efficient  attend- 
ance officers,  etc. 

If  your  state  has  no  compulsory  education  law, 
please  do  not  begin  your  interest  in  the  juvenile  de- 
linquent by  getting  a  juvenile  court.  Get  the  com- 
pulsory education  law  first  and  efficient  attendance  of- 
ficers. Then  get  truant  schools,  such  as  No.  120 
Manhattan,  where  boys  are  taken  before  they  fall  into 
the  delinquent  class,  are  studied  individually  and  en- 
couraged to  do  the  things  that  nature  qualifies  them 
to  do.  Better  still,  get  classes  within  a  school  or 
opportunities  within  a  class  where  difficult  children 
will  be  studied  individually  by  teachers  who  under- 
stand boy  "  badness  "  as  well  as  boy  "  goodness." 

For  latest  information  about  juvenile  court  work, 
address  The  Survey. 

Can  Women  Stop  the  Social  Evil? 

Ballots  do  not  patronize  the  social  evil. 
Have   you    ever   tried   to   understand   why    more 
women  are  interested  in  stopping  the  social  evil  than 


292     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

in  saving  the  lives  of  babies,  promoting  community 
health  or  bettering  the  work  of  public  schools? 
How  many  of  the  people  whom  you  have  known  to  be 
interested  in  the  social  evil  succeeded  in  being  in- 
terested without  becoming  morbid? 

If  I  could  control  the  action  of  ministers,  "  good 
citizens "  and  women's  clubs  I  should  say  that  the 
best  possible  means  of  reducing  the  social  evil  and 
sex  diseases  would  be  never  to  mention  sex  diseases 
and  social  evil  for  at  least  ten  years.  Less  headway 
can  be  made  against  them  by  fighting  them  directly 
than  by  working  for  positive  community  benefits 
treated  in  other  chapters. 

Not  until  we  recognize  our  partnership  in  the  con- 
ditions that  foster  the  social  evil  can  we  begin  to 
improve  those  conditions. 

After  all  sex  is  a  small  part  of  normal  life.  In 
fact,  sex  is  a  small  part  of  the  abnormal  life.  Even 
the  prostitute  is  thinking  of  other  things  than  sex  the 
greater  part  of  her  life. 

Those  who  try  to  discuss  the  social  evil  by  talk- 
ing of  frightful  sex  diseases  or  of  married  women 
who  go  on  the  operating  table  and  into  chronic  in- 
validism  because  of  sex  diseases,  and  of  the  alleged 
80%  of  men  who  are  diseased,  forget  apparently 
that  these  are  as  cogent  reasons  against  getting 
married  without  adequate  physical  examination  in 
advance,  as  against  visiting  brothels  without  similar 
^adequate  physical  examination  in  advance. 

No  more  sound  is  the  talk  that  girls  go  into  a 
life  of  shame  only  because  some  criminally-minded 


TEACHING  SEX  HEALTH  293 

man  or  men  have  abused  their  confidences.  Little 
progress  can  be  made  against  the  social  evil,  and 
little  help  can  be  given  girls  who  practice  it,  by  those 
who  refuse  to  recognize  that  there  is  just  as  much 
sex  about  women  as  about  men,  and  that  the  average 
girl  is  just  as  wide-awake  when  she  makes  mistakes 
in  regard  to  sex  as  is  the  average  man. 

No  more  hope  is  there  in  the  fallacious  argument 
that  in  the  main  poverty  drives  girls  to  a  life  of 
shame.  There  are  stock  stories  told,  for  example, 
about  department-store  girls  who,  when  they  say  to 
the  superintendent  that  they  cannot  live  on  their 
wages,  are  advised  to  "  get  some  help  on  the  side." 
While  working  on  this  chapter  I  have  been  told  of 
a  department  store  in  this  city  whose  girls  are  afraid 
of  one  member  of  the  firm.  I  am  not  acquainted 
with  the  facts,  but  my  reply  was  that  I  personally 
believe  that  girls  are  unsafe  in  direct  proportion  to 
the  largeness  not  to  the  smallness  of  their  salary. 
It  would  be  truer  to  say  that  girls  are  unsafe  in  di- 
rect proportion  to  their  attractiveness,  in  which 
ability  (and  income)  to  dress  and  the  habit  (and 
income)  of  dressing  play  an  important  part. 

If  the  schools  are  finally  used  for  teaching  sex 
hygiene,  as  has  been  tried  in  Baltimore,  Chicago, 
Newark,  Salt  Lake  City  and  the  Normal  College, 
New  York  City,  it  is  probable : 

(1)  That    sex    health    will   be   taught   to    mixed 
classes  and  throughout  the  grades 

(2)  That  abnormal  sex  relations,  irrespective  of 
disease,  will  not  be  taught  to  mixed  classes,  but  will 


394.     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

be  taken  up  privately  with  girls  as  in  the  Normal 
College,  New  York  City,  and  with  boys  as  in  many 
colleges  by  physical  directors 

(3)  That  sex  diseases  will  be  treated  in  the  same 
course  which  takes  up  other  transmissible  diseases, 
such  as  typhoid,  scarlet  fever,  tuberculosis,  etc. 

By  talking  opportunity  for  normal  sex  relations 
and  recreation  women  can  raise  more  money,  get 
more  people  interested  and  protect  more  children 
than  by  talking  sex  dangers. 

If  Segregation  of  the  Social  Evil  is  Right,  Is  It 
Wrong  to  Oppose  It? 

Until  the  relation  of  social  evil  to  police  depart- 
ment is  studied  more  extensively  and  scientifically 
than  has  ever  been  done  in  the  past  there  will  remain 
radical  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  morality  or 
immorality  of  giving  any  legal  sanction  to  houses  of 
prostitution. 

It  is  better,  some  say,  to  have  any  law  violated  than 
to  permit  government  itself,  by  toleration  or  recog- 
nition, to  become  party  to  vice  or  crime. 

It  is  better,  others  say,  to  keep  within  bounds 
evils  which  have  heretofore  defied  police  restrictions 
than  by  futile  efforts  at  prohibition  to  give  those  evils 
a  roving  license. 

Segregation  of  the  social  evil  amounts  to  this  as 
described  by  Mayor  Brand  Whitlock  of  Toledo,  Ohio, 
in  an  open  letter  to  a  conference  of  clergymen : 

To  promise  or  threaten  to  do  away  entirely 
with  the  social  evil  is  to  promise  the  impracti- 


POLICE  AND  SOCIAL  EVIL 

cable  ^  if  ^not  the  impossible.  With  the  people 
who  live  in  Toledo  and  who  come  to  Toledo,  with 
the  police  officers  whom  I  have,  with  the  courts 
which  must  fine  or  imprison,  I  cannot  hope,  dur- 
ing my  term  of  office,  to  abolish  the  social  evil. 
If  I  conduct  a  so-called  moral  campaign 
against  it  I  shall  demoralize  the  police  depart- 
ment, neglect  other  police  work  quite  as  impor- 
tant and  send  prostitutes  into  tenements,  respect- 
able districts  and  on  the  streets. 

Therefore,  I  am  going  to  try  to  do  what  others 
have  done  in  other  American  cities,  notably  in 
the  south,  and  segregate  the  social  evil.  No  one 
can  conduct  a  house  of  prostitution  without  reg- 
istering at  police  headquarters  the  place,  the 
name,  the  owner,  the  names  of  the  proprietor 
and  of  all  inmates.  No  places  will  be  registered 
outside  of  a  limited  district,  which  will  reduce  the 
evil  to  those  particular  individuals  who  seek  it, 
whereas  the  other  method  constantly  flaunts  the 
evil  in  the  faces  of  individuals  who  are  not  only 
•without  interest  in  vice,  but  actually  endeavor  to 
avoid  it. 

No  woman  is  permitted  to  go  to  such  a  house 
until  she  and  certain  essential  facts  regarding 
her  have  been  recorded  in  the  police  registry. 
She  may  not  change  from  one  house  to  another 
without  notice  to  the  police.  Any  proprietor  of 
a  house  who  accepts  an  unregistered  woman  is 
driven  out  of  business.  No  street  walking  or 
soliciting  from  windows  will  be  permitted.  In- 
nocent girls  who  attempt  to  register  are  sent 
home  to  their  parents  or  places  of  employment. 

For  the  latest  arraignment  of  any  form  of  recog- 
nition, and  for  the  most  careful  study  of  this  quesr- 


296     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

tion  to  date,  write  for  the  report  (392  pages)  of  the 
Vice-Commission  of  Chicago.  Mr.  John  D.  Rocke- 
feller, Jr.,  has  sent  1,000  copies  of  it  to  normal  school 
heads  and  city  superintendents. 

For  the  best  short  picture  of  the  social  evil  at 
work  and  its  ruthless  methods  in  trapping  innocent 
girls,  you  will  do  well  to  secure  Panders  and  Their 
White  Slaves  by  Clifford  G.  Rowe  of  Chicago,  who, 
as  former  prosecuting  attorney,  cites  not  opinion, 
but  one  actual  case  after  another  from  the  court  rec- 
ord of  sworn  testimony. 

Are  you  familiar  with  the  Moral  Education  Series 
of  Leaflets  published  by  the  Chicago  Society  of 
Social  Hygiene  for  the  "  education  of  men  con- 
cerning transmissible  diseases  and  the  consequent 
protection  of  wives  and  children  from  venereal 
contamination  " ;  or  with  the  transactions  of  the 
American  Society  of  Sanitary  and  Moral  Pro- 
phylaxis, New  York  City? 

Do  you  see  the  hopelessness  of  trying  to  deal  ef- 
ficiently with  the  social  evil  through  a  police  de- 
partment and  magistrates  who  play  politics,  lack 
self-respect  and  fail  to  prevent  other  violations 
of  the  law? 

Will  Women  Abolish  the  Saloon? 
Not  unless  women  do  more  than  vote  against  it. 
The  saloon  will  at  first  divide  the  woman's  vote : 
By  nominating  more  attractive  candidates  than 

the  anti-saloon  candidates 
By  injecting  other  important  issues  into  every 

election  where  the  saloon  is  an  issue 
By  showing  the  vast   community  benefits  that 
may  be  bought  by  license  money 


FIGHTING  ALCOHOLISM  297 

By  convincing  many  that  prohibition  does  not 
prohibit 

By  being  more  vigilant  than  the  "  anti-saloon 
'crowd  "  and  seeing  to  it  that  prohibition  does 
not  prohibit  wherever  and  whenever  tried 

Prohibition  against  the  saloon  where  efficiently  and 
persistently  tried  has  not  shown  a  higher  percentage 
of  failure  than  prohibition  against  stealing  or  em- 
bezzlement of  church  funds.  But  in  almost  negli- 
gible instances  has  prohibition  against  the  saloon  been 
efficiently  and  persistently  tried. 

It  is  to  the  saloon's  (or  brewer's  or  distiller's  or 
jobber's)  pecuniary  interest  to  make  prohibition 
fail. 

It  is  to  the  direct  pecuniary  interest  of  no  or- 
ganized force  to  make  prohibition  succeed  although 
if  it  does  succeed  the  drunkard's  family,  employer, 
fellow  laborer,  fellow  taxpayer  and  storekeeper  will 
benefit  financially.  This  gain  to  the  drunkard's 
families  and  their  employers,  fellow  laborers,  fellow 
taxpayers  and  storekeepers  has  been  seldom  worked 
out  with  sufficient  definiteness  to  counteract  the  skep- 
ticism and  complaint  of  the  saloon's  friends. 

Your  own  community's  pecuniary  interest  is 
more  important  than  the  nation's  drink  bill.  So 
your  own  community's  enforcement  is  more  impor- 
tant than  either  Alabama's  backsliding,  or  the  theory 
of  prohibition.  Will  you  and  your  women  friends 
do  or  get  done  the  detail  work  necessary  to  learn  and 
to  let  the  community  know  its  drink  bill  and  its  rec- 
ord of  enforcement  or  non-enforcement? 


298     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Meet  squarely  —  do  not  evade  —  the  question : 
"  What  is  the  use  if  juries  won't  convict  and  courts 
won't  punish?"  To  have  courts  and  juries  which 
do  not  act  according  to  law  and  evidence  is  worse 
than  having  saloons.  Go,  therefore,  at  the  courts 
and  juries.  Tell  the  truth  about  them  not  once  or 
twice  but  everlastingly  until  they  give  in.  Their 
wives  and  children  will  make  them  give  in  if  they  are 
wrong. 

In  a  southern  city  I  recently  visited  a  "  blind 
tiger "  where  apparently  anybody  was  welcome. 
Before  opening  the  door  to  let  us  in  and  out  a  colored 
porter  pulled  back  a  curtain  and  peeked  out.  We 
asked,  "  Are  you  looking  for  a  policeman  ?  "  He  re- 
plied, "  No,  'deed,  the  police  is  lookin'  for  me."  The 
trouble  was  the  police  were  not  looking  for  him,  but 
should  have  been. 

Challenge  and  disprove  the  claims  that  public 
sentiment  wants  saloons  no  matter  how  great  a  ma- 
jority votes  against  them.  Count  noses.  Advertise 
the  count.  In  almost  every  instance  you  can  prove 
that  the  public  sentiment  quoted  by  saloon  friends  in 
favor  of  violating  laws  against  or  restricting  saloons 
is  little  more  than  saloon  dealer  sentiment. 

It  is  doubtful  if  even  the  families  accustomed  to  the 
so-called  European  Sunday  would  vote  for  open  sa- 
loons on  Sunday  if  any  mayor  and  police  commis- 
sioner would  for  six  consecutive  Sundays  keep  saloons 
closed. 

One  per  cent,  of  the  energy  now  given  to  election 
excitement  would,  if  distributed  throughout  the  year 


PROHIBITION  RESEARCH  NEEDED     299 

in  daily  attention  to  facts  showing  enforcement  or 
non-enforcement,  work  out  a  saloon  policy  which 
would  be  right,  permanent  and  popular. 

Results  are  justifying  my  forecast  in  Civics  and 
Health  that  the  South  would  abandon  prohibition  un- 
less the  friends  of  prohibition  rivaled  the  enemies  of 
prohibition  in  after-election  work. 

In  Oregon,  the  home  of  the  initiative  and  referen- 
dum, prohibition  was  defeated  in  1910.  The  of- 
ficial pro  and  con  hand  book  for  voters,  published  by 
the  state,  contains  the  best  short  arguments  for  and 
against  prohibition  which  the  Oregon  Anti-saloon 
League  and  the  Greater  Oregon  Home  Rule  Associa- 
tion could  formulate.  Apply  to  Secretary  of  State, 
Salem,  Oregon. 

To  discover  the  maximum  strength,  cleverness  and 
respectability  of  the  advocates  of  a  restricted  and 
decent  saloon,  write  to  the  United  States  Brewers' 
Association,  109  East  Fifteenth  St.,  New  York  City. 

For  answers  to  definite  questions  and  for  pam- 
phlets, etc.,  write  to  the  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union,  Chicago. 

Police  Efficiency 

Has  your  town  a  "  police  problem  "  ? 

Do  your  police  side  with  order  or  with  disordc 

Are  they  in  politics? 

Are  they  allied  with  vice  and  gambling:1 

Have  you  enough  policemen? 

Who  is  interested  in  their  efficiency? 

Are  they  allowed  to  be  efficient? 

Do  you  expect  enough  of  them? 


300     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Large  cities  have  almost  despaired  of  what  is 
called  police  reform.  Prostitution  and  gambling 
flourish  although  it  is  now  recognized  that  neither 
may  safely  be  practiced  in  any  organized  way  or  so 
as  to  come  to  the  attention  of  the  public  without  the 
police  knowing  all  about  it  and  conniving  with  it. 

We  have  tried  to  root  out  police  corruption,  but 
have  rarely,  if  ever,  thought  that  there  is  any  way  of 
discovering  police  inefficiency. 

Or  again,  we  have  been  interested  in  what  Europe 
does  without  trying  to  learn  what  is  actually  being 
done  in  our  own  cities. 

Way  down  at  the  bottom  there  is  so  much  Phari- 
seeism  about  the  discussion  of  other  people's  vices 
that  most  of  us  love  to  get  excited  over  the  problems 
of  gambling  and  prostitution.  The  diagram  on  the 
opposite  page  shows  the  large  number  of  different 
aspects  from  which  the  problem  may  be  attacked. 
Anybody  who  attempts  to  understand  the  police 
problem  by  concentrating  on  any  one  or  any  five  of 
the  fifty  relations  there  sketched  is  bound  to  fail. 

Generally  speaking  we  have  given  our  police  too 
little  to  do.  When  they  might  be  getting  streets 
and  sidewalks  cleaned,  and  fire  escapes  clear  of  ob- 
structions, or  obtaining  information  needed  for  city 
purposes,  they  are  chatting  together  or  idly  gaping 
at  the  moon.  Property  owners  who  ought  to  feel 
responsible  for  securing  efficiency  in  100%  of  the 
work  of  police  departments  spend  money  instead  on 
private  watchmen. 

Those    who   thrive   on   the   demoralization    of   the 


THE  POLICE  QUESTION  301 


302     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

police  and  allied  departments  have  always  been 
able  "  to  make  black  look  white,"  to  make  reform 
seem  absurd,  and  to  confuse  the  public  mind  by  di- 
viding "  thoroughly  informed  citizens  "  into  two  op- 
posing camps. 

Political  parties  and  personal  enemies  have  taken 
advantage  of  this  confusion.  The  public,  instead 
of  equipping  itself  to  understand  the  police  problem 
and  the  inner  workings  of  the  "  police  system  "  and 
allied  departments,  have  been  stampeded  like  sheep 
and  induced  to  take  sides  for  or  against  some  mayor 
or  some  police  commissioner  or  some  more  or  less 
practical  scheme  for  attacking  the  few  forms  of 
crime  and  vice  that  make  money  when  most  fla- 
grant. 

Instead  of  systematically  and  currently  obtaining 
information  that  would  give  the  approximate  truth 
about  100%  of  the  workings  of  the  police  and  allied 
departments,  reformers  and  officials,  like  those  wish- 
ing to  discredit  reform,  have  made  sharpshooting  ex- 
cursions into  this  or  that  district  and  skyrocket  at- 
tacks upon  this  or  that  evil,  while  leaving  the  public 
substantially  in  ignorance  as  to  what  was  done  or 
left  undone  for  protecting  itself. 

No  one  knows  the  futility  of  this  method  better 
than  the  promoters  of  organized  crime  and  vice. 

Any  town  and  any  officials  that  have  adopted  the 
idea  of  auditing  bills,  payrolls  and  mortality  statis- 
tics can  also  see  the  advantage  of  auditing  police 
and  court  and  probation  records  of  time  spent,  work 
done,  failures  and  inefficiencies,  complaints  not  at- 


TESTING  POLICE  WORK  303 

tended  to,  offenders  not  arrested,  persons  arrested 
without  enough  evidence  to  hold  them,  etc. 

Some  people  seem  to  think  that  you  cannot  keep 
track  of  policemen's  work  because  crime  is  always 
breaking  out  where  you  least  expect  it.  But  the 
mayor's  business  as  executive  is  not  with  the  offender 
but  with  the  public  officers  paid  to  prevent  offenses 
and  to  detect  and  arrest  offenders  on  evidence.  It 
is  just  as  easy  to  keep  track  of  a  policeman  and  to 
apply  a  test  to  his  work  as  it  is  to  keep  track 
of  water-meter  readers  or  inspectors  of  school  sup- 
plies. 

When  the  public  stops  thinking  that  efficient  man- 
agement of  the  police  department  requires  some 
occult  powers,  the  police  department  will  cease  to  be 
a  perennial  illustration  of  administrative  weakness. 

When  the  public  stops  thinking  it  is  hard,  officials 
will  stop  thinking  it  is  hard. 

It  is  also  probably  true  that  when  officials  and 
newspapers  stop  saying  it  is  almost  impossibly  hard, 
the  public  will  see  that  it  is  practicable,  if  not  ex- 
actly easy. 

When  the  public  begins  to  think  that  it  can  know 
enough  about  police  work  to  test  its  efficiency  any 
mayor  will  be  supported  in  demanding  knowledge 
heretofore  lacking. 

Like  most  of  life's  heroics,  the  policeman's  star 
playing  is  against  a  background  of  innumerable 
definite,  measurable,  timeable  acts. 

Because  nobody  heretofore  has  paid  any  attention 
to  the  little  things  of  police  management,  the  big 


304«     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

things   have,    with    few    intermissions,    created    con- 
tinuous dismay  and  scandal. 

A  Much  Needed  Study  Which  Women  Might 
Finance 

Women  could  afford  to  wait  a  good  many  years 
before  concentrating  on  police  mismanagement, 
gambling  or  the  social  evil.  In  no  community  will 
the  men  tolerate  gambling  and  flagrant  vice  after 
they  have  once  become  thoroughly  interested  in  such 
questions  as  playgrounds,  tenement  protection, 
lower  infant  mortality,  clean  milk  and  efficient 
schools.  Therefore,  the  best  thing  that  a  woman 
or  woman's  organization  can  do  as  to  the  police 
question  is  to  ask  the  chamber  of  commerce  or  the 
strongest  combination  of  men  to  stop  talking  about 
small  fractions  of  police  work  and  to  make  a  study 
of  lOO^o  of  the  work  that  the  police  ought  to  do. 

The  purpose  of  this  study  should  be  to  see  whether 
it  is  easier  for  the  individual  policeman  to  be  in- 
efficient than  efficient  because  of  the  department's 
method  of  conducting  its  business,  its  purchases,  its 
repairs,  discipline,  examination  of  candidates  and 
presentation  of  evidence  in  court. 

Because  there  are  so  many  women  who  have  the 
money  necessary  to  finance  such  a  study  in  their 
own  community,  I  am  repeating  here  a  plan  sub- 
mitted by  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  first 
to  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  as  foreman  of  the 
"White  Slave  Grand  Jury,'*  and  later  to  Mayor 
Gaynor. 


A  MUCH-NEEDED  STUDY  305 

Agencies  for  Enforcing  the  Law  Which  Have  Never 

Yet   Been   Adequately    Studied    and 

Never  Currently  Tested 

^  1.  Police  department  —  headquarters,  pre- 
cincts and  representatives  in  the  magistrates' 
courts 

2.  Each  magistrate's  court 

3.  The  magistrates  of  all  divisions  sitting  as 
boards  of  magistrates 

4.  Department  of  correction,  with  particular 
regard  to   cases   coming  from  the  magistrates' 
courts  and  discharged  at  order  of  magistrates' 
courts 

5.  Reformatory     institutions     which    receive 
cases  from,  and  discharge  cases  at  the  orders  of, 
magistrates'  courts 

6.  Jury  system,  method  of  impaneling,  excus- 
ing, etc. 

7.  Special  sessions 

8.  General  sessions 

9.  Night  court 

10.  Excise  department 

11.  Tenement  house  department  inspection  of 
tenements  used  for  disorderly  purposes 

12.  Commissioner  of  licenses,  with  respect  to 
his  power  over  employment  agencies  tempted  to 
cater  to  disorderly  houses 

13.  District  attorney's  office 

14.  State  and  national  agencies  sharing  re- 
sponsibility  for   admission   of   immigrants,   en- 
forcement of  law,  etc. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  study  concerns  it- 
self not  with  the  nature  of  vice  and  crime,  but 
with  the  public's  equipment  for  preventing,  de- 
tecting, and  punishing  vice  and  crime. 


306     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

A  Few  Indexes  to  Police  Efficiency 

Earmarks  of  lax  administration  — 

Analysis  of  work  supposed  to  be  done 

Work  now  known  to  be  done 

Difference     between     expectation     and     work 

known  to  be  done 
Distribution  of  powers  and  duties 

Distribution  of  police  force,  uniformed,  clerir 

col,  plain  clothes  — 
By  class  of  work 
By  district 
By  "  soft  snaps  " 

By  personal  preference  of  policeman  or  "  out- 
side " 

Methods  of  fixing  responsibility  — 
For  complaints  not  pressed 
For  offenders  not  arrested 
For  difference  between  arrests  and  convictions 
For  nuisances  not  abated 
For  "  thrown  "  cases  —  helping  offenders  by 

forgetting  or  admitting  lack  of  evidence 
For  time  wasted 
For  failure  to  verify  addresses  given 

Methods  of  testing  efficiency  — 
Of  individual  officers 
Of  department  policies 
Of  department  methods 
Of  legal  provisions 

Methods  of  studying  departmental  results  — 
By  captains  and  sergeants 
By  commissioner  and  deputies 
By  the  mayor 


INDEXES  TO  POLICE  WORK         307 

By  the  board  of  estimate 
By  the  public 

Detective  service  — 
Assignments 
Results 

Records  not  subject  to  public  scrutiny 
Periodical  arrest  amounting  to  license  of  of- 
fenders 

Relations  with  other  departments  — 
Magistrates'  courts 
Night  court 

Department  of  correction 
Tenement  house  department,  etc. 


308     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT. 


•Prumtr  fttailUtg 


SCHOOLS  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 

v<* 

feSra 


THE  WAY  TO  REDUCE  CITY  WASTE 
IS  TO  REDUCE 

SSHastasil 


fr 


WHY  PASS  THIS  CHARTER 
HU1RYT    WHY  PASS  ANT  C 
AT  THIS  SESSION  T 

NO  HURRY  ABOUT  A  MEW 

•SttSsSSSS:- 


frtn 


To  ptiani  ««d«M  »4 1 tn  laliil 
•CMMIIM  •»*  «*  n^ntoTtiU^ 

UU*     0<    •••ll»«l    kUIMU.     W«k    I 

mw  M  tiittMHij  U.  ~k  -  p.* 


THE  "COPS"  SPREAD  THE   NEWS 


fOR  THE  NEW  YORK  MOX  COMMITTEE 
BUREAU  OF  MUNICIPAL  RESEARCH 

261  BM***.  N«  Y«k 
OTX3ENT  OTUEWHIP  N»  4S4 


The  Police  Need  a  Social  Program  as  Social  Programs  Cer- 
tainly Need  Efficient  Police 


XII 


METHODS   THAT   MAKE   "GOOD   GOVERN- 
MENT" EASY 


Is  a  Balance  Sheet  Beyond  Woman's 
Understanding? 

A  balance  sheet  is  something  which  every  suc- 
cessful private  business  thinks  it  necessary  to  have, 
and  which  municipalities  and  states  think  they  can 
get  along  without.  As  Investors,  rich  men  look  for 
it  and  are  guided  by  it.  As  Reformers  and  Edu- 
cators, they  are  still  apt  to  disdain  it. 

If  correct,  a  balance  sheet  shows  exactly  where 
a  business  stands  at  a  given  date, —  everything  in 
hand  and  due  it  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  other 
everything  it  owes.  Thus  a  balance  sheet  is  merely 
an  outlook. 

What  is  there  about  your  standing  or  mine  to-day, 
what  we  owe  or  what  is  due  us,  that  is  ultra-scientific 
and  technical,  uninteresting  or  too  difficult  to  under- 
stand? 

When  a  furnished  cottage  is  hired  for  the  summer 
an  efficient  landlord  will  take  a  receipt  for  a  com- 
plete list  of  household  furnishings.  When  the  house 
is  given  back  in  the  fall  he  compares  the  list  of 
furnishings  which  the  tenant  turns  back  with  the 
original  list.  For  the  difference,  that  is  for  missing 
articles,  he  makes  the  tenant  pay.  That  is  one 
simple  form  of  balance  sheet  and  that  is  all  there  is 
to  a  city's  balance  sheet  except  that  there  are  more 
things  that  need  to  be  compared. 

The  thing  about  a  balance  sheet  that  disconcerts 
311 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT, 

most  people  is  that  the  total  on  one  side  is  exactly 
the  same  as  the  total  on  the  other.  Yet  this  is 
so  with  your  bank  account. 

If  you  can  be  the  means  of  removing  the  convic- 
tion among  your  women  acquaintances  that  balance 
sheets  are  beyond  their  understanding,  you  will  in- 
estimably have  furthered  efficient  government. 

I  copy  here  a  balance  sheet  circulated  by  the  Phila- 
delphia Bureau  of  Municipal  Research,  which  you 
can  easily  understand  the  minute  you  stop  thinking 
you  cannot  understand  it.  An  interesting  hour 
could  be  spent  by  your  woman's  club  or  by  your 
church  hearing  from  an  expert  how  it  is  that  by  that 
simple  page  the  man  at  the  head  of  Philadelphia's 
government  will  be  notified  of  the  slightest  error  in 
addition  or  subtraction  made  by  the  humblest  book- 
keeper in  the  service. 

If  with  a  similar  balance  sheet  your  town,  city, 
county  or  state  is  not  reporting  the  truth  about 
goods  on  hand,  property,  bills  unpaid,  revenues  due 
and  not  received  you  may  be  sure  that  money  is 
being  wasted,  that  mis-praise  and  mis-condemnation 
are  certain,  that  the  public  is  being  deceived  and 
that  in  all  probability  men  inside  and  outside  of  the 
government  are  profiting  from  corruption  and  mis- 
management. 

To  spread  throughout  the  country  sound  policies 
and  sound  methods  regarding  balance  sheets  and  the 
keeping  of  records  so  that  balance  sheets  will  tell 
the  truth  about  government  work,  the  former  comp- 
troller of  New  York  City,  Herman  A.  Metz,  has 


JUST  A  BALANCE  SHEET 


313 


HO 
rHO 
COW 

i-Tr-T 


COOO  COOOCONOO 

50<N  OCOOCOOiN 

WO  COlMOOOt-CO 

IOOO  rHIOOCOrHOO 

CO-*  O>  CO  <N  t-  t-  Tjl 

i-Tco"  t-ro'od'o'cfco' 

kOO  i-IH^t>OOO 

CO^  00       (MO  CO  Tit 
"" 


JOCO  CM  CMO  O  OOrH  CO       C* 

"V3  Tjl  CNCO  O»  C>T|I  CO       O 

Us  i  Hi  s  13  s 

Oi"l>  T-T  i-Tctf  C0~  ^TrH  CO~ 

•^t-  CO  ION  CO  O>t-  O 

rHO_  rH  CO  t-  »O  00  rH 

<o^jT  rn"  rn"  CO'CM"  ** 


0»       N     « 
Tjl       C*     • 


eo    •     t-     CM    • 
••*   •     co     •**   • 

rH    .       0       CO    • 


*oo 

'U5U5 

[COCO 


Capital 
Accoun 


Cfl  O>       ^     •  O  r|(  Tjf  O> 

1OO       Tjl     -OTjIINCO 
COO       <M     -CSJTJIIOOJ 


W  rH 

0»  CO 

tO  CO 

rH  00 


Gen 

Acc 


•eo     T)<O 

•<O        rHCO 

•CO 

•  rl< 

•  O 


rHOCI  -COOCO 
t-lO  -NIN^ 
«OCO  >COt-O 


o"     ufc^oo 

' 


t-b- 

eooj 

iOCM 

oo*eo 
ot- 


COrH 
t-rH 
o  00 


y  — 


to 


due 
eceivabl 


ri  a 

*  09  4> 

•  +3    00    fl 

^§i» 

rM    O    fl    (» 

to  rt  a>  >  w 

dl  a^ 


!=.: 
|Ii 

&^      '   M 
4)  CD     •  .2 

«ri  :s 
ffg  :S 

2^:3 
5..S 

*l| 

« o  s 


funds 

s 
liabili 


LIABILI 

Warrants  payabl 
Amounts  due  to 
Funded  debt 
Total  liab 
Excess  of  assets 


314.     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

established  a  National  Fund  for  Promoting  Efficient 
Municipal  Accounting  and  Reporting.  This  fund 
is  administered  by  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Re- 
search, 261  Broadway,  which  will  be  glad  to  answer 
questions.  For  copies  of  official  statements  issued 
in  New  York  City,  blank  books  and  records,  write 
to  the  City  Comptroller,  280  Broadway,  New  York 
City. 

Find  out  if  your  mayor  and  other  public  officers 
and  boards  of  trade  have  been  thinking  of  this  sub- 
ject. Improper  bookkeeping  will  outwork  and  out- 
wit the  best  intentions  and  efforts  of  women  in  gov- 
ernment. 

Outwit  the  Grafter  by  Accounting 

Ballots  neither  graft  nor  account. 

Because  few  men  graft  while  others  are  looking, 
the  grafter  is  not  an  animal  to  be  overtaken,  but  a 
condition  to  be  uncovered. 

Graft  presumes  the  ability  to  conceal.  The  great- 
est of  all  graft  concealers  is  inefficiency.  Waste- 
graft  does  more  harm  than  theft-graft.  Less  graft 
will  be  found  when  graft  is  looked  for  than  when 
inefficiency  is  looked  for. 

Ability  to  conceal  the  presence  of  graft  presumes 
that  grafters  have  accomplices.  Sometimes  the 
grafters  are  on  the  outside  of  government,  and  the 
accomplices  on  the  inside.  Sometimes  grafters  are 
on  the  inside,  and  the  accomplices  on  the  outside. 
Wherever  any  considerable  amount  of  graft  exists, 
the  chief  culprit,  the  steadiest,  most  trustworthy  ac- 


OUTWITTING  THE  GRAFTER       315 

complice  is  the  chief  victim  of  graft,  namely,  the 
general  public. 

Among  the  means  as  yet  discovered  to  keep  the 
general  public  from  being  an  accomplice  in  graft, 
the  most  effective  is  a  system  of  records  which  af- 
fords current  evidence  as  to  the  who,  current  evidence 
as  to  the  what  and  current  evidence  as  to  the  when 
of  orders,  contracts,  certificates  of  delivery,  inspec- 
tions, audits,  stores  on  hand,  labor  rendered,  time 
loafed,  shortages  concealed,  overcharges,  etc. 

Grafters  know  it  is  easier  to  beat  the  candidates 
who  threaten  to  put  them  in  jail  than  the  officers 
who  know  what  is  being  done  with  public  money. 

An  open  public  eye  rather  than  an  aroused  public 
conscience  is  essential  to  the  elimination  of  graft. 
Falsifying  a  payroll,  if  you  can  prove  it,  is  not 
dissimilar  to  forging  a  bank  check. 

In  furnishing  evidence,  no  accounting  is  adequate 
which  does  not  account  for  work  done  as  well  as  for 
money  spent.  Such  accounting  is  just  as  necessary 
for  counties  and  states,  townships  and  national  de- 
partments, as  for  cities. 

Short  Weights  and  Measures  for  Women 
Purchasers 

When  you  are  told  what  votes  for  women  will  do 
for  government  please  do  not  forget  that  the  high 
morals,  good  intentions  and  "housekeeping  in- 
stincts "  have  not  prevented  annual  short  weight  and 
measure  losses  by  woman  purchasers  greater  than 
their  annual  savings  bank  deposits. 


316     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

These  losses  are  not  a  city  monopoly,  for  wherever 
weights  and  measures  have  been  examined  the  same 
conditions  have  been  found. 

So  universal  is  the  practice  that  nation-wide  en- 
terprises have  manufactured  "  fast "  scales  that  lie ; 
measures  with  false  bottoms ;  light  weights ;  cans 
with  false  insides;  spools  of  thread  %8%  short;  milk 
and  cream  bottles  from  S%  to  6%  short.  Other 
common  phenomena  are  yard  sticks  from  one-half  to 
two  inches  short;  counter  tacks  for  measuring  dry 
goods  from  one-half  to  two  inches  too  near  each 
other;  gasoline  pumps  giving  from  4%  to  10%  short 
measure;  pound  bread  loaves  weighing  14  ounces 
instead  of  16;  ice  for  charitable  institutions  and 
hospitals  from  10%  to  40%  short;  coal  10%  short, 
etc. 

After  a  report  by  the  Robert  L.  Stevens  Fund 
for  Municipal  Research  in  Hoboken  on  weights  and 
measures  in  eleven  New  Jersey  cities,  inspectors  and 
officers  in  several  cities  not  investigated  promptly 
claimed  that  there  were  no  such  evils  in  their  city. 
But  in  self-righteous  Bayonne  a  man  has  just  been 
fined  $50  for  delivering  oil  in  a  can  marked  five 
gallons  which  actually  held  but  three  gallons.  For 
years  purchasers  have  been  defrauded  by  this  man 
out  of  enough  every  week  to  pay  this  $50.00.  Of 
weights,  scales,  measures  and  packages  tested  in 
Princeton  54%  were  incorrect.  Only  two  of  19 
stores  were  correct  in  all  tests. 

Of  39  oil  cans  found  in  one  inspection  in  Hoboken 
all  were  made  of  full  measure,  but  the  drivers  had 


WOMEN  AS  PURCHASERS  317 

dented  in  29  of  them  so  that  they  were  short  from  six 
to  forty  cubic  inches.  When  it  was  known  that  the 
inspectors  were  about,  several  drivers  undented  their 
cans  but  could  not  conceal  evidence  of  intent  to  de- 
fraud. Some  of  them  were  cheating  from  $3  to  $5 
a  day  without  the  knowledge  either  of  their  em- 
ployers or  their  customers. 

Dealers  claim  that  light  weights,  fast  scales  and 
short  measures  are  invented  and  used  not  for  the 
sake  of  giving  the  customer  short  measures,  but  to 
give  her  the  impression  by  heaping  up  her  measure 
that  she  is  getting  a  little  more  than  she  pays  for. 
So  general  is  'this  bargain  seeking  instinct  that  even 
at  ice-cream  counters  in  many  cities  practically  no 
dishes  are  found  that  are  not  short  measure;  a  girl 
would  rather  have  a  heaped  up  short  dish  of  ice  cream 
than  a  level  full  dish. 

An  ideal  customer  is  one  who  knows  values  and 
tests  quantities.  But  most  of  us  are  like  the  man 
who  was  told  he  could  live  ten  years  longer  if  he 
would  drink  buttermilk  three  times  a  day :  "  What's 
the  use  of  living  ten  years  more  if  I  must  drink  but- 
termilk three  times  a  day !  "  We  would  rather  lose 
three  or  five  or  ten  per  cent,  on  our  purchases  than 
go  through  life  questioning  the  weight  or  measure 
of  our  purchases  and  suspecting  our  grocer  and 
butcher.  Therefore  the  need  for  someone  who  will 
be  on  the  watch  for  all  of  us  all  of  the  time. 

In  cities  there  should  be  enough  inspectors  of 
weights  and  measures  to  make  it  too  risky  for  dealers 
to  use  short  scales  or  false  measures  or  to  get  false 


318     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

results  from  true  scales  and  measures.  In  every 
city  some  private  agency  should  organize  to  make 
occasional  tests  of  the  work  done  by  official  sealers 
of  weights  and  measures.  This  is  one  of  the  best 
fields  for  women's  clubs.  It  takes  but  a  little  time 
and  a  few  can  act  for  the  many.  Start  with  the  Sat- 
urday night  and  rush  hour  trading. 

Superintendent  Reichmann  of  New  York  State's 
department  of  weights  and  measures,  Albany  — 
the  premier  educator  in  this  field  —  has  issued  in- 
structions on  weights  and  measures  for  officials 
relative  to  the  testing  of  weights,  measures  and  ap- 
paratus used  in  trade.  How  obvious  some  of  the  de- 
ficiencies are  you  can  gather  from  one  illustration 
taken  from  these  instructions: 

Faulty  Dry  Measures  Likely  to  "be  Fownd 

Wooden  measures  cut  down  so  as  to  reduce  the 

depth 
False  bottom,  tilting  bottom,  raised  bottom  or 

removable  bottom,  to  decrease  the  depth 
The  bottom  reduced  in  diameter  and  the  sides 

relapped.     This   can  be  readily   detected  by 

the  poor  nailing 
Sides  broken  off 

Metal  measures  bent,  broken  or  dented 
Measures  falsely  constructed,  namely,  of  wrong 

capacity 
Bushel  baskets  containing  only  %  or  %  bushel 

when  stricken  full.     These  are  very  common 
Six-quart  measures.     These  are  illegal  and  are 

used  for  peck  or  eight-quart  measures 
Double-ended    measures,    that   is    those   with    a 


TESTING  PURCHASES  319 

bottom  part  of  the  way  up,  one  side  being 
used  for  one  capacity,  the  other  for  another. 

For  the  New  Jersey  report  illustrated  and  a  copy 
of  the  bill  embodying  the  best  knowledge  and  stand- 
ards to  date,  address  the  Secretary  of  State,  Trenton, 
N.  J.  Ask  the  Philadelphia  Bureau  of  Municipal 
Research  for  its  report  on  that  city.  All  these  docu- 
ments should  be  in  your  public  library. 

If  nothing  has  yet  been  done  in  your  state,  ask 
the  United  States  bureau  of  standards,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  what  inspections  it  has  made  in  your 
state,  the  character  of  your  laws  and  your  present 
needs. 

What  is  the  use  of  contributing  a  few  hundred  or 
a  few  thousand  dollars  to  your  local  charities  if 
you  allow  the  poor  to  be  defrauded  out  of  from 
S%  to  5%  of  their  purchases  of  groceries,  meats, 
etc.? 

Did  you  know  that  the  difference  between  a  liquid 
measure  gallon  and  a  dry  measure  gallon  is 
from  15%  to  18%? 

The  price  for  beans  and  peas  is  fixed  on  dry  meas- 
ure; do  you  get  yours  in  liquid  measure? 

Have  you  any  idea  how  big  a  bushel  is? 

Do  you  buy  strawberries  by  the  box  or  by  the 
quart  ? 

When  you  buy  meat  do  you  pay  for  the  wrapping 
paper  and  the  trimmings? 

Do  you  wait  for  the  scales  to  come  to  a  balance 
or  let  the  butcher  overcharge  you  a  pound  or  two 
with  the  force  with  which  he  places  the  meat  on 
the  scales? 


320     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Do  you  pay  for  the  wooden  box  in  which  your  but- 
ter is  weighed? 

Have  you  ever  had  a  short  weights  and  measures 
exhibit  in  your  community? 

Do  you  know  anybody  who  thinks  that  a  yard 
should  contain  less  than  36  inches,  a  pound  less 
than  16  ounces,  a  gallon  less  than  four  quarts? 

The  Public  as  Purchaser 

Ballots  do  not  purchase  for  your  city. 

At  New  York  City's  budget  exhibit  in  1910  per- 
haps the  most  interesting  feature  was  the  short 
weights  and  measures  which  had  a  sobering  influence 
on  both  men  and  women  who  had  heretofore  taken 
pride  in  some  supposed  superiority  over  government 
purchasers. 

No  informed  person  now  believes  that  the  loss 
to  New  York  City's  taxpayers  from  inefficient  pur- 
chasing by  city  officials  and  employes  is  equal  to  the 
loss  from  their  own  inefficient  purchasing. 

Wherever  the  public  as  purchaser  has  been  inves- 
tigated it  has  been  found  to  be  wasteful.  In  one 
department  of  the  United  States  government  ten  dif- 
ferent prices  were  paid  for  the  same  quality  of  ink 
by  ten  different  divisions.  $13,000,000  were  spent 
in  one  year  on  railroad  tickets  yet  mileage  was  not 
bought  because  "  only  15%  to  20%  could  be  saved." 

Curiously  enough  the  percentage  of  waste  seems 
to  grow  as  the  size  of  the  place  shrinks.  Nor  does 
noble  purpose  protect  hospitals  or  schools  from 
wasteful  purchasing:  $800,000  saved  in  New  York 
City's  school  supplies  in  1911  as  compared  with 


TESTING  PUBLIC  PURCHASES       321 

1904;  $6,000  saved  on  Bellevue  Hospital's  milk  in 
1910  and  2%  tons  of  ice  saved  a  day  by  that  same 
hospital;  500,000  record  cards  bought  by  the  de- 
partment of  health  at  the  retail  price  bid  for  500; 
$1.50  approved  for  a  six  cent  valve  wheel  by  the 
department  of  correction;  $6,000  paid  in  West 
Hoboken  for  a  $2,000  school  site;  New  York  City 
rejected  700,000  pounds  of  forage  and  300,000 
pounds  of  meat  for  its  hospitals  in  1910 ;  by  weighing 
and  measuring  provisions  for  a  small  private  hospital 
a  superintendent  saved  $3,000  in  one  season  of  sum- 
mer fresh  air  work,  enough  to  give  a  day's  outing 
to  12,000  mothers  and  children. 

You  can  learn  what  your  city  pays  for  different 
articles.  You  can  compare  the  price  paid  with  the 
proper  price.  You  can  discover  whether  proper 
steps  are  being  taken  every  day  in  the  year  to  see 
that  purchases  are  correct.  You  can  have  a  public 
exhibit  in  your  library  or  in  the  school  or  on  the 
main  street  which  will  show  actual  articles,  their  right 
price  and  the  city's  price. 

There  should  be  a  price  list  in  the  city  auditor's 
or  comptroller's  office  with  which  to  compare  prices 
charged.  A  very  careful  list  is  now  being  made  up 
in  the  New  York  comptroller's  office.  The  most 
detailed  price  list,  probably,  in  the  world  is  being 
worked  out  by  President  Taft's  efficiency  commis- 
sion, copies  of  which  may  be  had  by  applying 
directly  to  the  commission  at  the  White  House,  or 
through  your  congressman  or  senator. 

Contracts    should    state    clearly    the   quality    and 


322     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

quantity  of  goods  to  be  bought.  This  description  of 
goods  is  called  the  specification.  New  York  City's 
new  coal  specifications,  on  which  over  $500,000  will 
be  saved  next  year,  were  recently  requested  by  a 
woman's  club  whose  managers  felt  that  their  con- 
tract with  the  coal  dealer  was  not  being  lived  up  to 
and  wished  to  make  their  arrangements  more  spe- 
cific. 

A  price  list,  a  good  bargain,  a  written  contract, 
and  careful  specifications  will  not  help  unless  goods 
are  inspected  upon  delivery  to  see  that  they  are  the 
same  as  contracted  for. 

Unless  you  specify  that  you  will  pay  for  the  heat 
units  in  the  coal  rather  than  for  its  weight,  coal 
dealers  will  try  to  make  you  believe  that  coal  cannot 
be  equally  good  all  the  time. 

Wherever  cities  pay  20%,  50%  or  200%  more 
for  land  than  it  is  worth,  whether  by  private  sale 
or  by  condemnation  proceedings,  it  means  that 
somebody  is  being  paid  by  the  public  to  work  against 
the  public's  interest  365  days  a  year.  The  same 
statement  applies  to  other  purchases  where  the  pub- 
lic is  the  loser. 

Labor  is  purchased  just  as  much  as  coal,  vegetables 
and  land.  The  public  has  been  particularly  careless 
in  purchasing  labor  and  has  failed  to  specify  in  ad- 
vance exactly  what  work  it  wanted  to  have  done  and  to 
make  sure  that  the  work  paid  for  was  that  bargained 
for.  It  would  be  harder  to  exhibit  facts  about  your 
city  or  county  or  state  as  purchaser  of  labor,  but 
you  may  easily  find,  as  did  Illinois,  that  a  man  is 


WATCHING  PUBLIC  PURCHASES     3*3 

paid  a   liberal   salary   for  winding  the   state   house 
clock  once  a  week. 

By  watching  purchases  five  women  in  your  city 
can  do  more  to  prevent  corruption  and  misgovern- 
ment  than  5,000  women  can  do  by  their  votes  with- 
out watching  purchases. 

For  detailed  suggestions  as  to  how  to  go  about 
it  and  how  to  be  sure  that  somebody  is  constantly 
checking  purchases,  write  to  the  Herman  A.  Metz 
Fund,  261  Broadway,  New  York  City. 

The  Public  as  Auto  Owner 

Governments  as  well  as  farmers  and  store  keepers 
have  felt  the  auto  craze. 

There  are  many  plausible  reasons  for  substituting 
automobiles  for  horses.  High  priced  public  officials 
ought  to  spend  their  time  at  work  instead  of  travel- 
ing. It  is  easy  therefore  to  show  by  computation 
that  a  park  commissioner  earning  $7,500  a  year 
can  save  the  city  $100,000  if  he  can  get  around 
quickly  by  using  an  automobile.  When  such  argu- 
ments are  used  ask  a  few  questions. 

Is  the  automobile  used  to  ride  into  or  away  from 
public  business? 

Does  the  official's  wife  do  her  shopping  in  the  city's 
automobile  ? 

Do  the  officials,  their  families,  relatives,  or  "  best 
girls  "  take  joy  rides  at  night  or  in  the  summer 
time  ? 

Does  it  cost  $4,200  a  year  to  repair  a  $900  auto- 
mobile ? 


WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Wherever  an  automobile  is  paid  for  by  the  public 
a  record  should  be  kept  such  as  is  now  being  kept 
in  Porto  Rico  and  in  the  commissioners  of  accounts' 
office,  New  York  City  (280  Broadway)  telling  just 
where  the  automobile  goes,  how  much  gasoline  or 
electric  current  it  uses,  who  runs  it,  who  uses  it  and 
for  what  public  purpose.  These  are  called  "  time 
and  service  records." 

Wherever  several  automobiles  are  paid  for  by  the 
public  there  should  be  a  central  garage  to  which 
officers  must  apply,  as  they  make  requisitions  for 
lead  pencils  or  coal. 

Central  rooms  for  stenographers  yield  greater 
efficiency  at  less  expense  than  giving  to  each  person 
who  dictates  a  monopoly  over  some  special  stenogra- 
pher who  is  idle  except  when  the  dictator  happens  to 
have  something  to  say. 

In  this  same  way  one  automobile  may  be  used  by 
a  dozen  officers  when  most  needed  by  each  and  it 
becomes  unnecessary  to  have  drivers  and  machines 
standing  around  waiting  for  the  public  official  to 
take  a  ride.  For  automobile  substitute  horses,  and 
apply  similar  tests  for  use  of  city  property  and  city 
time. 

Inspection  of  Public  Purchases  and  Payrolls 

Ballots  will  not  inspect  anything. 

As  Washington  wrote  repeatedly  to  his  foreman: 
slave  service  was  certain  to  be  wasteful  and  incom- 
petent wherever  task  masters  failed  to  inspect  cur- 
rently the  details  of  the  work.  This  generalization 


INSPECTING  PAYROLLS  335 

General  Washington  made  after  receiving  a  report 
of  the  work  done  by  women  slaves  at  Mount  Vernon 
during  his  absence  in  Cambridge. 

Any  buyer  who  accepts  her  purchases  without 
looking  them  over  to  see  that  they  are  according  to 
her  own  understanding  will  surely  receive  a  good 
proportion  of  short  weights  and  inferior  qualities. 
What  else  explains  four  prices  for  the  same  meat 
in  four  shops  within  two  blocks ! 

A  child  three  years  old  will  take  advantage  of  a 
nurse  or  a  parent  who  fails  to  compare  action  with 
instruction. 

A  modern  highly  trained  nurse  or  nursemaid,  for 
that  matter  the  highest  priced  dressmakers  and  milli- 
ners, do  much  better  service  for  mistress  or  customer 
who  carefully  inspects  their  work  than  for  one  who 
takes  it  for  granted  that  she  will  get  her  money's 
worth  or  would  "  rather  be  overcharged  than  go 
through  the  world  afraid  of  being  cheated." 

By  inspecting  bills  overcharges  will  be  occasionally 
found.  Those  practiced  in  selling  inferior  qualities 
and  quantities  however,  are  less  apt  to  overcharge 
than  to  underweigh,  undermeasure  or  give  inferior 
qualities.  Therefore  it  is  important  to  compare  the 
actual  goods  with  prices  before  they  are  consumed. 
To  fail  to  inspect  goods  is  to  tempt  the  dealer  and 
one's  own  representative.  Lack  of  inspection  made 
possible  delivery  of  grade  No.  4*  oats  not  good 
enough  for  goats  when  the  city  was  paying  for  grade 
No.  1  oats.  Lack  of  inspection  made  possible  pay- 
ing $2.21  to  put  a  six  cent  hat  hook  in  place. 


326     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

With  regard  to  coal,  many  school  boards  are  now 
not  only  inspecting  the  coal,  but  have  it  weighed  on 
their  own  premises  and  on  their  own  scales  just  before 
delivery  to  their  own  bins,  and  then  in  addition  have 
samples  taken  to  test  what  a  Chicago  alderman  called 
"  their  British  terminal  units "  (thermal  or  heat 
units). 

A  central  purchasing  agent  who  buys  for  all  the 
city's  departments  can  get  better  prices  than  20  or 
120  different  agents  buying  in  different  quantities. 
Delivery  to  one  central  purchasing  bureau  makes  in- 
spection vastly  easier.  By  central  purchasing  our 
railroads  are  saving  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars a  year. 

A  central  purchasing  agent  is  possible  even  where 
deliveries  have  to  be  separated.  Throughout  the 
west  10  or  20  or  50  binding  twine  dealers,  for  ex- 
ample, will  pool  their  orders  and  let  the  combimd 
order  to  the  lowest  bidder.  Yet  the  one  seller  makes 
delivery  to  each  man  according  to  his  individual 
part  of  the  total  order.  Similarly  several  private 
hospitals  of  New  York  have  combined  to  pool  or 
bunch  their  orders  for  hospital  supplies,  and  while 
getting  individual  deliveries  are  also  saving  more 
money  each  year  than  the  Saturday  and  Sunday 
Hospital  Association  raises  from  its  thousands  of 
donors. 

Any  individual  citizen  can  get  a  list  of  public  in- 
stitutions of  his  city  or  county  or  state  and  can 
learn  whether,  how  and  when  goods  are  inspected. 

Any   group  of  women   may,   with   little   expense, 


AUDITING  VS.  VOTING  337 

learn  whether  the  knowledge  gained  by  inspection  is 
used  to  prevent  fraud  and  overcharging. 

Audit  as  a  Part  of  Inspection 

Voting  never  audits. 

It  seems  terribly  unromantic  to  ask  women  who 
want  to  save  their  country  to  find  out  how  public 
bills  are  audited. 

But  the  auditing  of  bills  is  a  truer  indication  of 
the  moral  attitude  of  a  community  than  is  the  plat- 
form of  a  suffrage  or  other  political  party. 

If  bills  are  audited  in  a  way  that  permits  un- 
scrupulous tradesmen  to  exploit  the  government,  it  is 
absolutely  certain  that  outside  the  city  or  state  gov- 
ernment is  an  organized  group  on  the  job  every  day 
in  the  year  attempting  to  corrupt,  hoodwink  or  bully 
those  who  represent  government,  to  mislead  the  pub- 
lic with  regard  to  its  own  interest,  and  to  prevent 
any  substantial  improvement  in  public  morals. 

Inspection  concerns  itself  with  goods  delivered  and 
the  comparison  of  goods  delivered  with  goods  speci- 
fied. Audit  follows  inspection  and  concerns  itself 
with  the  payment  for  the  goods.  The  auditor  uses 
all  the  information  gained  by  the  inspector  and  sees 
that  those  who  draw  the  warrant  for  the  goods  do 
not  disregard  the  inspector's  protests.  The  auditor 
must  see  that  the  department  had  authority  to  buy 
the  goods,  that  there  is  money  properly  appropriated 
for  that  purpose,  that  the  right  officers  certified  to 
the  order,  to  the  receipt  and  to  the  warrant. 

Where  there  is  proper  audit  every  person  who  has 


328     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

anything  to  do  with  ordering  or  receiving  or  in- 
specting goods  should  certify  to  the  particular  part 
with  which  he  has  to  do. 

Quite  generally  auditing  is  weakest  when  it  has 
to  do  with  payrolls.  Progressive  cities  are  trying 
now  to  install  time  sheets  on  which  each  person  cer- 
tifies as  to  the  time  he  works,  then  each  individual's 
time  sheet  is  approved  by  the  officer  who  is  responsi- 
ble  for  his  work.  Finally  the  heads  of  divisions  and 
heads  of  departments  certify  that  time  sheets  are 
used  and  that  proper  steps  have  been  taken  within 
the  department  to  prevent  any  man's  drawing  pay 
for  more  hours  than  he  worked. 

An  elaborate  detailed  description  of  each  step  in 
inspection  and  audit  was  published  in  New  York  in 
1910  by  Herman  A.  Metz,  then  comptroller,  en- 
titled, Manual  of  Accounting  and  Business  Procedure 
for  tlie  City  of  New  York.  Supplementary  manuals 
of  instruction  are  being  issued  by  Comptroller 
Prendergast.  New  York  City's  department  of 
finance  and  the  President's  efficiency  commission  at 
Washington,  D.  C.,  will  furnish  the  best  short  cuts  to 
a  technical  treatment  of  these  steps,  forms  of  certifi- 
cate, etc.  The  Herman  A.  Metz  Fund  will  be  pre- 
pared to  answer  questions  and  give  help. 

Every  step  in  inspection  and  audit  —  every  check 
against  collusion,  corruption  and  extortion  —  be- 
comes a  facile  means  of  blackmailing  those  whom 
your  city  owes  unless  it  is  efficiently  administered. 
Whether  checks  are  used  to  blackmail  is  a  question 
of  fact  to  be  answered  not  by  an  expression  of  public 


HOW  A  SURVEY  HELPS  329 

sentiment  at  the  polls,  but  by  an  actual  inspection  of 
methods  used  by  your  city  or  county  or  state  auditor. 
If  no  steps  have  been  taken  you  can  probably  per- 
suade some  business  men  and  expert  accountants  to 
make  an  examination  for  you.  For  from  $10  to 
$50  a  day  you  can  get  skilled  experts  to  make  such 
an  examination  and  report  on  the  business  methods  of 
your  city. 

What  $100  Found  Out  as  to  Montclair's  Methods 
of  Doing  Business 

Because  audit,  inspection,  accounts  and  records 
are  technical  matters  many  citizens  delay  taking 
easy  steps  to  help  their  communities.  The  town 
council  of  Montclair,  N.  J.,  with  a  population  of 
about  20,000,  recently  asked  the  Bureau  of  Munici- 
pal Research  to  make  a  survey  of  its  business 
methods  and  to  report  if  a  more  extended  study  were 
needed. 

For  $100  it  was  possible  to  tell  the  officers  and 
citizens  of  Montclair  the  following  significant  facts, 
the  mere  presentation  of  which  led  to  plans  for  im- 
proving the  city's  business  methods: 

1.  With    respect    to    disbursements,    the    records, 
reports    and   procedure   employed   by  the   town    of 
Montclair  fail  to  give  to   the  mayor,   council   and 
taxpayers  what  is   considered  adequate  financial  or 
operative  control. 

2.  With  respect  to  receipts,  our  preliminary  in- 
quiry (which  we  submit  subject  to  modification  that 
might  be  made  necessary  by  a  more  detailed  study) 


330     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

indicates  that  the  town   of  Montclair  has  adequate 
financial  and  operative  control. 

3.  With  respect  to  current  reports,  including  the 
annual  report  and  balance  sheet,  there  are  a  number 
of  improvements  which  could  easily  be  effected  with- 
out reference  to  any  changes  in  present  method  and 
procedure,  and  still  further  improvements  that  will 
be  necessary  if  present  method  and  procedure   arc 
modified. 

4.  There  is  nothing  to  prevent  a  department  from 
exceeding  its  appropriation. 

6.  There  is  inadequate  control  over  supplies. 

6.  The  time  at  work  is  not  shown. 

7.  Service  records  are  lacking  to  compare  time  and 
money  spent  with  service  rendered. 

8.  A  department  may  exceed  its  appropriation. 

9.  For  want  of  proper  records   in   liabilities   in- 
curred   stores    and    supplies    are    inadequately    con- 
trolled. 

10.  The  balance  sheet  is  deficient. 

11.  Horses    and    wagons    are   hired   upon    verbal 
agreement. 

12.  The  building  department  and  town  collector's 
office  could  be  efficiently  conducted  for  less  money. 

When  the  Public  Builds  Buildings 

$27,000,000  for  a  city  hall  that  was  to  have  cost 
$7,000,000 ;  no  water  on  the  second  floor  of  a  public 
bath  because  the  water  mains  were  made  too  small; 
an  emergency  order,  without  competitive  bids,  for 
repairing  a  police  precinct,  given  to  a  contractor  16 


PUBLIC  AS  BUILDER  331 

miles  away;  $20,000  given  for  cleaning  a  city  hall 
that  could  be  kept  as  clean  for  $2,000;  15  employes 
dead  from  tuberculosis  in  one  germ  infested,  dark, 
unclean  room.  What's  the  use  of  multiplying  ex- 
amples ? 

Are  the  public  buildings  in  your  city  clean? 
Is  there  ventilation  in  the  work  rooms? 
Is  there  adequate  protection  against  fire? 
Is  the  appearance  that  of  order  or  disorder? 
What  of  your  county  buildings? 
What  of  your  state  buildings  ? 

There  cannot  be  too  many  public  buildings  in  your 
community  for  women's  clubs  to  learn  the  sanitary 
conditions  and  the  efficiency  of  their  management. 
You  can  add  a  touch  of  beauty  here  and  there,  some 
window  boxes,  some  palms  or  ferns  in  the  public 
baths.  No  gift  by  Mrs.  Russell  Sage  has  been  more 
keenly  appreciated  in  New  York  City  than  the  re- 
storing and  beautifying  of  our  venerable  city  hall. 

Your  women  can  interest  the  building  superin- 
tendents in  proper  discipline,  cleanliness  and  ventila- 
tion. You  can  easily  see  that  new  buildings  are 
properly  constructed  according  to  modern  standards 
and  within  proper  cost.  In  Newark,  N.  J.,  the 
same  woman  who  organized  a  demand  for  a  new  pub- 
lic bath  is  now,  with  the  aid  of  paid  advisers,  follow- 
ing every  detail  of  planning  and  constructing  that 
bath. 

This  is  a  service  with  which  voting  has  absolutely 
nothing  to  do. 


332     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Is  anybody  watching  your  public  buildings  ? 

Have  you  a  municipal  art  commission? 

Could  you  organize  a  voluntary  art  commission? 

Would  you  support  architects  who  would  try  to 
make  a  city  beautiful? 

What  effort  is  made  to  improve  the  character  of 
your  municipal  buildings  and  to  influence  your 
merchants  and  manufacturers  to  increase  the 
beauty  of  the  exterior  and  interior  of  their 
stores,  offices  and  factories? 

Safeguarding  Construction  of  All  Buildings 

It  is  hard  to  realize  that  many  men  can  look  the 
world  in  the  eye  while  building  a  tenement  house,  thea- 
ter, factory  or  office  building  with  full  knowledge  that 
it  is  a  fire  trap  or  otherwise  a  menace  to  life.  Nor 
is  it  the  degenerate  alone  who  does  this,  but  men  and 
women  of  culture  and  high  moral  standards.  The 
explanation  is  that  they  feel  sure  that  their  building 
will  prove  an  exception.  The  willingness  of  insur- 
ance companies  to  carry  whatever  risk  there  is  helps 
to  lull  the  conscience  to  sleep. 

What  have  the  women  of  your  community  done  to 
prevent  the  construction  of  unsafe  buildings? 

To  prevent  the  innocent  occupant  from  careless- 
ness or  viciousness  on  the  part  of  builders  willing  to 
risk  another's  life  for  a  slight  saving  in  cost  of  con- 
struction, progressive  cities  have  a  building  code. 
All  plans  for  a  building  must  be  submitted  to  a  cen- 
tral office  for  inspection.  Only  such  and  such  ma- 
terials may  be  used.  Only  under  certain  specified 
conditions  may  buildings  be  made  of  non-fire-proof 


BUILDING  INSPECTION  333 

material.  Certain  minimum  provisions  as  to  ventila- 
tion, escape  in  case  of  fire,  fire  extinguishing  ap- 
paratus, etc.,  are  required. 

Has  your  community  a  building  code?  Is  it  up- 
to-date  ? 

Wherever  building  codes  exist  it  is  found  that 
many  inspectors  and  many  builders  are  willing  to 
evade  the  law.  Inspectors  receive  bribes  for  looking 
the  other  way;  or  for  failing  to  see  economies  that 
endanger  life  or  health. 

Another  favorite  graft  is  for  inspectors  to  hold  up, 
plans  on  plausible  grounds  and  then,  upon  receipt  of 
a  present  or  free  rent  in  some  new  building,  to  mark 
on  the  plans  that  the  changes  have  been  made;  after 
the  building  is  up  no  one  can  tell  that  the  law  was 
evaded. 

In  England  there  is  county  supervision  over  the 
most  remote  farmhouses  or  barns.  Gradually  we 
are  coming  to  see  the  need  for  similar  protection  in 
rural  districts  of  the  United  States. 

When  city  or  state  legislative  bodies  set  out  to 
make  their  building  codes,  those  who  manufacture 
different  articles  try  to  "  sneak  in  "  provisions  which 
will  give  them  either  monopoly  or  preference.  In 
New  York  in  1910  there  was  a  bitter  fight  running 
over  two  months  between  two  political  factions  as 
to  which  of  two  rival  manufacturing  companies 
should  be  given  a  practical  monopoly  in  the  building 
code* 

Architects  are  interested  in  safe  building.  Every 
large  community  should  have  its  voluntary  committee 


334.     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

of  architects,  disinterested  and  public  spirited,  who 
are  willing  to  study  existing  and  proposed  building 
codes  and  to  make  periodic  inspections  of  the  public 
supervising  bureaus. 

When  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  investi- 
gated the  Borough  of  Manhattan  in  1906  numerous 
architects  complained  that  it  was  necessary  to  bribe 
inspectors  and  officials,  but  not  one  was  willing  to  give 
public  testimony.  One  of  the  country's  greatest  re- 
form officials  told  me  he  found  that  his  own  agent  for 
a  number  of  buildings  of  which  he  was  trustee  wanted 
to  include  in  the  year's  expense  account  bribe  money 
for  building  inspectors.  Another  well-known  ex- 
ponent of  reform  complains  that  he  secured  passage 
of  his  plans  out  of  their  turn  because  of  supposed 
personal  influence. 

You  can  learn  whether  such  practices  exist  in  your 
community. 

When  the  Public  Builds  Streets 

This  is  too  big  a  subject  to  be  dealt  with  in  a  few- 
words.  The  main  points  to  be  considered  are  these: 
Get  wide  streets;  have  trees  planted  along  the  sides 
or  in  the  center ;  have  the  water  mains,  gas  mains  and 
sewers  put  in  when  the  street  is  first  built ;  have  water 
enough  to  cleanse  by  flushing  with  frequent  sewer 
holes  so  as  to  discourage  the  piling  up  of  dirt  and 
snow;  see  that  somebody  examines  all  contracts  for 
street  paving  and  repairs  so  that  building  of  streets 
will  be  a  matter  of  serious  city  planning  and  not  an 
opportunity  for  grafting;  use  paving  material  that 


PUBLIC  AS  STREET  BUILDER       335 

will  not  grind  up  into  fine  dust  and  double  the  work 
of  keeping  your  houses  clean ;  do  away  with  the  long 
term  guaranty  of  private  contractors,  pay  them  and 
be  done  with  it,  but  compel  fulfillment  of  specifica- 
tions while  the  work  is  being  done. 

The  best  up-to-date  information  on  street  building 
can  be  secured  from  Engineering  News. 

It  is  now  known  exactly  how  much  it  should  cost 
to  lay  one  hundred  square  feet  of  asphalt  or  con- 
crete or  wooden  blocks  or  granite  blocks  and  how 
much  repaying  would  cost  per  cut  one  hundred  feet 
square,  and  how  much  repairing  should  cost  per 
quarter  mile.  It  is  known,  too,  that  there  is  no  more 
reason  for  having  street-holes  in  winter  because  it  is 
cold  than  for  having  baby  deaths  in  summer  because 
it  is  hot. 

For  instances  of  gouging  the  public  through  pav- 
ing contracts,  write  to  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Re- 
search, Cincinnati;  for  repaving  contracts  write  to 
the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research,  Philadelphia ;  for 
the  story  of  the  celebrated  "  Ahearn  Case," —  the  city 
official  removed  by  Governor  Hughes  largely  on  ac- 
count of  his  inefficiency  in  building  and  repairing 
streets, —  write  to  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research, 
New  York  City. 

Efficient  Fire  Protection 

Because  fire  insurance  companies  pay  for  losses  due 
to  fire,  most  of  us  have  thought  that  fires  did  not 
cost  any  of  us  any  money.  Hence  we  have  been 
tardy  in  trying  to  prevent  fire-waste  and  we  have 


336     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

gone  on  losing  at  a  rate  five  times  as  high  as  Ger- 
many's from  preventable  fires. 

Were  you  surprised  to  learn  recently  that  in  the 
United  States  we  burn  up  $500  a  minute  from  fires, 
most  of  which  could  be  prevented  by  reasonable  pre- 
cautions ? 

That  prevention  is  largely  a  matter  of  education 
was  strikingly  recognized  by  one  student  of  fire-waste, 
the  publisher,  Simon  Brentano,  who  said  that  Chicago 
might  better  have  lost  once  $250,000,000  (America's 
annual  waste  from  fire)  than  to  have  lost  its  great 
fire  chief  Guerin  in  the  stockyards  fire  of  December, 
1910. 

By  preventing  fire  holes  instead  of  repaving  them 
after  election  celebrations,  Borough  President  Mc- 
Aneny  saved  New  York  City,  in  1910,  about  $50,- 
000. 

From  $3.50  per  year  per  $100  on  property  in- 
sured, the  New  England  Mills  Company  has  reduced 
losses  to  six  cents  per  $100  on  property  insured. 
This  was  done  by  educating  the  insured  mill  owners, 
first  to  build  of  proper  materials  with  proper  fire 
fighting  appliances  and  then  to  keep  watch  upon 
their  buildings  so  that  fires  would  not  be  started. 

Automatic  sprinklers  should  be  used  in  all  large 
open  areas,  such  as  department  stores  and  factories. 

Wire-glass  windows  should  be  used  wherever  a 
building  joins  another  or  is  near  enough  to  be  reached 
by  flames.  Fires  creep  in  through  windows  rather 
than  by  walls,  just  as  burglars  do. 

While  fire  protection  is  infinitely  more  interesting 


FIRE  PREVENTION  337 

than  most  people  think,  women's  clubs  could  hardly 
be  expected  to  qualify  as  specialists  in  fire  fighting. 
They  may,  however,  learn  whether  the  fire  department 
is  "  out  of  politics  " ;  whether  it  finds  out  the  reasons 
for  fires  and  tells  the  public;  whether  too  many  men 
are  employed ;  whether  civil  service  tests  are  required 
and  applied;  whether  supplies  are  bought  economic- 
ally or  wastefully;  whether  fire  horses  cost  25%  or 
even     50%     too     much,     are    kindly     treated    and 
promptly   cared  for;   and  whether  the  fire  depart- 
ment is  studying  the  problem  of  fire-waste  as  the 
health  department  should  be  studying  the  problems 
of  health  waste.     They  may  know  whether  the  fire 
alarm  service  is  up-to-date  and  reliable ;  whether  there 
are  fire  drills  in  schools  and  factories ;  whether  school 
buildings  are  fire  traps ;  and  whether  the  laws  requir- 
ing fire-proof  construction  in  congested  districts  and 
periodic  inspection  of  fire  risks  in  shops,  theaters,  etc., 
are  lived  up  to.     They  may  follow  Mrs.  Sage's  ex- 
ample and  see  that  all  fire  stations  have  libraries. 

Where  there  are  volunteer  fire  companies,  "  public 
brigades,"  etc.,  women  may  see  that  children  are 
taught  not  to  throw  matches  in  the  garret,  cellar  or 
closet;  not  to  play  with  matches  and  gasoline  or 
kerosene  at  the  same  time ;  not  to  be  careless  in  light- 
ing the  Christmas  tree ;  and  not  to  believe  the  stories 
told  in  country  towns,  as  well  as  cities,  about  spon- 
taneous combustion  when  explaining  queer  fires  in 
homes,  stores  and  stables.  In  fact,  an  annual  lec- 
ture to  school  children  about  fire  frauds  or  "  fire 
flies,"  or  the  low  standard  of  ethics  which  raises 


338     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

money  by  setting  fire  to  some  insured  building,  would 
do  a  vast  amount  of  good. 

For  the  romance  of  fire  fighting  write  to  the 
National  Fire  Protection  Association.  For  a  scien- 
tific statement  as  to  methods  of  reducing  fire-waste, 
including  automatic  sprinklers,  wire  glass,  electric 
alarm  service  and  efficient  administration  of  fire  de- 
partments and  bureaus  of  fire  prevention,  write  also 
to  that  Association,  Boston  or  Chicago.  For  meth- 
ods of  arousing  and  informing  the  public,  address 
Committee  of  Safety,  165  Broadway,  New  York 
City. 

Assessing  Property 

Do  you  pay  taxes? 

Do  you  pay  at  the  same  rate  as  your  neighbor? 

Do  you  and  your  neighbor  pay  at  the  same  rate 
as  those  in  other  parts  of  your  community? 

Do  any  of  you  pay  as  much  as  you  ought  to  pay 
to  support  the  work  that  ought  to  be  done  by 
your  city? 

Is  your  property  assessed  at  its  full  value  or  two- 
thirds  or  four-fifths  its  value? 

Is  anybody  constantly  watching  assessments  to  see 
that  they  are  equal? 

The  school  teachers  of  Erie,  Pa.,  became  tired  of 
being  told  that  there  was  not  money  enough  to  in- 
crease their  salaries.  They  began  a  study  of  assess- 
ment which  was  later  taken  up  by  the  Allied  Civic 
Organizations  of  Erie  and  is  reported  in  one  of  the 
most  readable  and  convincing  discussions  of  equal 
assessment  that  you  can  find.  Real  estate  experts 


ASSESSING  PROPERTY  839 

helped  secure  the  right  value  of  typical  pieces  of 
property.  It  was  found  that  some  were  paying  five 
times  as  much  as  others  on  property  of  the  same 
value. 

Some  typical  questions  from  the  final  report  are 
reprinted  to  illustrate  its  helpfulness : 

Do  you  know  that  the  city  assessors  of  Erie 
have  no  definite,  scientific,  mathematically  cor- 
rect plan  for  assessing  property  for  tax  pur- 
poses ? 

Do  you  know  that  the  city  of  Harrisburg 
(under  an  equalized  assessment)  is  getting 
$64,000  every  year  more  than  the  city  of  Erie 
for  its  public  improvements  and  maintenance, 
and  that  their  millage  is  five  mills  less  than  ours  ? 

The  records  show  property  at  Second  and 
Plum  assessed  at  69%  of  market  value;  prop- 
erty at  Eighth  and  Plum  at  20%.  Why  the 
difference? 

We  Americans  certainly  do  hate  to  pay  taxes. 
Most  of  us  would  rather  pay  $100  without  realizing 
that  it  was  taxes  than  to  pay  a  $5  tax.  Hence  we 
protest  against  licenses,  such  as  Mobile,  Alabama, 
uses  for  almost  every  business  except  walking  on  the 
street:  milliner,  juggler,  chiropodist,  baker,  paving, 
dealing  in  yeast,  repairing  shoes,  etc. 

Most  taxation  in  the  United  States  is  on  land  and 
buildings.  Where  other  forms  of  wealth  or  income 
are  taxed  we  have  not  as  yet  learned  to  tax  in  pro- 
portion to  the  ability  to  pay  the  tax.  I  recently 
overheard  two  rich  men  compare  their  European 
taxes  with  their  New  York  taxes.  They  both  agreed 


340     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

that  they  paid  much  more  in  proportion  to  their 
wealth  in  Germany  and  in  England  than  in  New- 
York.  Neither  was  sure  why  it  was  that  the  Germans 
and  English  succeeded  in  getting  the  truth  about 
rich  men's  incomes  when  it  seemed  impossible  to  do  so 
in  this  country.  One  explained  that  the  European 
judges  were  relentless  in  prosecuting  those  found  to 
misrepresent  their  income,  and  further  that  any  tax 
official  had  the  privilege  of  going  to  a  man's  private 
books  to  see  whether  he  was  declaring  the  truth. 

So  notoriously  do  New  Yorkers  swear  off  their  per- 
sonal taxes  that  even  Lawson  Purdy,  one  of  the 
country's  greatest  tax  experts,  has  advocated  abolish- 
ing the  personal  tax. 

Women  can  universalize  the  belief  that  every  man 
and  woman  should  pay  according  to  ability  to  pay 
and  that  it  is  dishonest,  disreputable  and  unworthy  to 
claim  to  be  worth  $100,000  when  one  spends  $250,- 
000  a  year,  or  to  value  at  $5,000  the  furnishings  for 
a  house  that  cost  $200,000. 

One  of  the  best  speeches  Mark  Twain  ever  made 
was  on  the  swearing  off  of  taxes  and  the  demoraliz- 
ing effect  on  a  whole  community  of  the  condition 
when  rich  men  and  women  accept  applause  for  phi- 
lanthropy and  religious  work  while  understating  by 
10%  or  90%  the  property  on  which  they  pay  taxes. 
We  must  abolish  the  spectacle  of  men  and  women 
holding  back  by  dishonest  practices  what  is  legally 
due  from  them  for  the  poor  and  for  education  and 
then  giving  lavishly  through  private  charity  for  tne 
poor  and  for  education. 


SWEARING  OFF  TAXES 

Women  can  make  sure  that  they  are  paying  their 
own  share  of  taxes  even  if  it  is  not  customary  in  their 
community.  They  can  be  uncomfortable  if  their 
husbands  are  not  paying  their  share  of  taxes.  They 
can  ask  questions  which  would  make  their  husbands 
prefer  to  pay  the  whole  tax.  At  times  it  would  do 
good  to  learn  about  other  women's  taxes.  They  can 
refuse  to  follow  any  woman  prominent  in  philan- 
thropic circles  who  declares  Paris  as  her  residence  in 
order  to  save  the  customs  duty  on  her  purchases 
abroad.  They  can  make  it  unfashionable  as  well  as 
a  misdemeanor  to  declare  falsely  the  amount  of  pur- 
chases abroad.  They  can  refuse  to  applaud  stories 
of  successful  smuggling.  They  can  print  compara- 
tive lists  of  the  taxes  paid  by  wealthy  men  and 
women.  They  can  compare  the  principal  private 
benefactions  with  the  taxes  that  should  be  paid  and 
are  sworn  off  or  otherwise  evaded  by  leading  phi- 
lanthropists. 

To  equalize  present  methods  is  a  better  next  step 
than  to  try  to  change  the  method  of  levying  taxes  in 
your  city.  To  make  vacant  property  pay  taxes  ac- 
cording to  its  real  value  now  will  help  adjoining 
properties  more  than  to  labor  for  an  ideal  single  tax. 
To  enforce  penalties  for  lying  about  personal  prop- 
erty is  a  better  next  step  than  to  give  up,  as  hopeless, 
efforts  to  secure  the  truth  as  to  income  and  property. 


342     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

Watching  City  and  State  Revenues 

Private  philanthropy  and  civic  uplift  can  go  lit- 
tle further  in  American  cities  without  the  discovery 
of  additional  sources  of  public  revenue. 

In  taxing  the  general  public  for  uplift  work  it  is 
no  longer  enough  for  women  to  urge  more  and  more 
expenditures  for  social  welfare.  They  must  make 
sure  (1)  that  the  work  is  needed;  (2)  that  there  is 
enough  money  to  pay  not  only  for  the  entering  wedge 
but  for  giving  not  to  10%  but  100%  of  the  needy  the 
benefits  of  the  new  proposal;  (3)  that  in  raising  the 
money  from  taxpayers'  families  they  are  not  break- 
ing down  the  health  and  strength  of  larger  numbers 
than  they  relieve. 

Altogether  too  little  attention  has  heretofore  been 
paid  to  public  revenues.  This  is  all  the  more  curi- 
ous because  in  private  affairs  we  have  given  more 
thought  to  income  than  to  outgo.  But  except  to 
protest  against  the  tax  rate  or  total  amount  of  taxes, 
individual  citizens  have  rarely  asked  questions  about 
revenue.  See  what  we  find  when  we  begin  to  ask 
about  revenue: 

1.  An  increase  in  one  year  of  $12,000,000  in 
the    customs    revenues    at   New   York    City    by 
merely  forcing  passengers  to  tell  the  truth  and 
by  discovering  when  they  smuggled 

2.  A  fruit  stand  under  Brooklyn  Bridge  for- 
merly  let   at   $600   a   year  at   private  bidding 
brought  in  $8,400  when  let  at  public  bidding 

3.  Park  Commissioner  Stover  of  New  York 


WATCHING  PUBLIC  REVENUES      343 

privately  reduced  to  $900  a  park  permit  that 
had  brought  $2,500  when  let  at  public  bidding 

4s.  Payments  for  stands  in  the  city  markets 
were  made  to  aldermen  or  other  politicians  so 
that  a  few  favored  renters  got  the  best  positions 

5.  Over  $1,500,000  increase  resulted  from 
changes  in  controlling  New  York  City's  water 
revenues  in  1910 

With  revenues,  as  with  expenditures,  our  first  op- 
portunity is  to  make  the  most  of  what  we  have  rather 
than  to  worry  about  new  ones.  In  most  communi- 
ties the  revenues  which  ought  to  be  collected  that  are 
not  collected  will  exceed  the  total  cost  of  doing  the 
not-yet-begun  uplift  work  that  women  are  certain 
they  want  to  have  done. 

It  is  practicable  to  find  out  what  different  sources 
of  revenue  there  are  in  your  city,  what  it  sells,  what 
it  rents,  what  it  permits  or  licenses.  By  asking  ques- 
tions, not  by  balloting,  can  women  fill  in  the  gap  be- 
tween revenues  due  and  revenues  paid. 

Sometimes  judges  impose  a  fine  of  $5  when  they 
should  fine  $25.  Sometimes  cities  charge  $500  for 
liquor  licenses  when,  if  they  charge  at  all,  they  might 
just  as  well  charge  $1,000.  Some  favored  citizens 
are  permitted  without  making  proper  legal  payments, 
to  cut  openings  in  the  street,  put  vaults  under  the 
street  or  have  dogs  at  large.  Water  meters  are  often 
left  unread,  or  bottling  establishments,  breweries 
and  livery  stables  are  permitted  to  pay  not  for 
the  water  they  use  but  for  the  number  of  feet  front- 
age of  their  property. 


344     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT, 

Wherever  city  revenues  are  improperly  charged  or 
improperly  recorded,  many  people  have  a  money  in- 
terest in  extravagant  expenditures,  favoritism  and 
corruption,  because  these  conceal  their  undue  advan- 
tage. 

To  find  whether  your  city's  method  of  keeping 
track  of  revenues  due  and  revenues  paid,  is  adequate, 
address  the  Herman  A.  Metz  Fund,  261  Broadway, 
New  York  City. 

What  sources  of  revenue  has  your  city  apart  from 
taxes  ? 

How  much  was  due  last  year? 

How  much  was  paid  in  last  year? 

What  is  done  about  the  delinquencies? 

Can  a  collector,  without  detection,  give  a  receipt 
for  $500  and  write  $5  on  the  receipt  stub? 

Can  he  give  and  renew  a  license  without  cost? 

Can  he  keep  and  use  city  funds  for  months  with- 
out its  being  known? 

Are  there  women  who  receive  special  favors? 

Are  valuable  privileges  let  privately  or  to  the  high- 
est bidder? 

Is  valuable  public  property  such  as  the  streets, 
river  front  and  parks  leased  free  or  for  a  song 
to  private  parties? 

Is  there  any  one  officer  who  has  a  list  of  every 
amount  due  the  city  with  date  due  plus  the  name 
of  the  man  or  premise  owning  it? 

Is  this  list  used  to  compare  what  the  collectors 
turn  in  with  what  they  should  turn  in? 

What  Can  Women  do  About  Franchises? 

Ballots  do  not  draw  franchises. 

A  city  official  recently  said  to  the  directors  of  the 


WOMEN  AND  FRANCHISES          345 

Bureau  of  Municipal  Research:  "Will  you  please 
tell  me  why  it  is  that  your  Bureau  is  worrying  so 
about  non-promotion  and  the  inspection  of  foods 
while  leaving  to  others  the  largest  and  most  impor- 
tant question  —  subway  franchises?"  Two  days 
later  Mayor  Gaynor  expressed  regret  that  people 
were  trying  to  settle  the  subway  question  without 
"  getting  down  on  their  knees  to  study  the  city  map 
and  alternative  subway  proposals." 

Franchises  have  been  synonymous  with  corruption 
and  misgovernment  largely  because  individual  voters 
and  organizations  have  not  taken  the  time  to  get 
down  on  their  knees  to  study  the  details  of  great 
franchises.  Yet  why  not?  Innumerable  elections 
have  hinged  on  the  terms  of  public  franchises. 
Volumes  have  been  written  showing  how  franchise 
holders  have  corrupted  and  misled  franchise  grantors. 
As  of  any  other  question  it  is  true  of  franchises, 
that  one  who  has  made  up  his  mind  to  vote  has  not 
only  the  time  but  the  obligation  to  discover  why  he 
is  going  to  vote  that  way. 

The  woman  voter,  whether  a  stockholder's  wife  or 
daughter,  can  refuse  to  share  the  pecuniary  benefits 
from  those  franchises  which  on  balloting  day  she  de- 
clares to  be  a  fraud  against  the  public.  She  can 
refuse  to  be  party  to  public  clamor  against  corpora- 
tions for  having  done  what  public  clamor  invited  them 
to  do  five  or  ten  years  earlier. 

Getting  something  for  nothing,  or  getting  a  great 
deal  for  a  little,  applies  not  only  to  the  corporations 
which  have  paid  bribes,  but  to  aldermen  and  mayors 


346     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

who  have  accepted  bribes.  Sometimes  corruption 
begins  with  the  owner  or  would-be-owner  of  a  fran- 
chise. Many  times  it  begins  with  the  official  who  has 
it  in  his  power  to  take  or  withhold  from  the  owners 
or  would-be-owners  rights  or  property  to  which  they 
are  entitled. 

It  is  profitless  to  speculate  on  the  relative  demerits 
of  briber  and  bribee.  One  thing  we  can  be  sure  of: 
people  do  not  give  or  take  bribes  in  the  open. 
Therefore,  all  franchise  transactions  should  be  forced 
into  the  open, —  open  outlining  of  plans,  open  dis- 
cussion of  pros  and  cons,  open  bidding  for  the  fran- 
chise. 

The  greatest  franchise  fighter  in  the  United  States 
is  the  city  of  Chicago.  For  its  exciting  story,  write 
to  the  Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency,  Chicago.  For 
European  experiences,  model  restrictions,  etc.,  ad- 
dress Legislative  Reference  Library,  Madison,  Wis- 
consin. For  New  York  City's  fight  against  char- 
ter protection  of  franchise  juggling  write  to  City 
Club,  55  West  44th  Street. 

Merit  Tests  for  Public  Service 

Voting  may  secure  civil  service  laws,  but  it  cannot 
discover  merit  or  apply  merit  tests. 

To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils  was  for  decades 
an  honored  epigram  in  American  politics.  The  cen- 
tral theme  of  the  great  moral  campaigns  from  1800 
to  1894  was  spoils  of  office  and  not  tariff  or  national 
banks  or  acquisition  of  territory.  We  shall  never 
know  the  relative  importance  of  this  desire  for  spoils, 


THE  MERIT  SYSTEM  347 

which  some  may  consider  fortunate,  because  it  would 
certainly  be  mortifying  to  discover  how  few  patriots 
went  to  the  polls  with  no  other  thought  than  their 
country's  good.  Of  thousands  who  thought  they 
were  voting  on  public  issues  a  great  proportion  were 
brought  to  the  polls  by  a  handful  of  politicians  and 
other  public  employes  who  merely  took  advantage 
of  public  excitement  over  "  paramount  issues "  to 
fight  for  public  spoil. 

How  far  we  have  traveled  away  from  this  crude 
commercial  idea  of  government  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  at  the  present  time  24-5,000  national  employes 
are  protected  against  removal  from  office  except  for 
inefficiency  or  for  want  of  work;  while  in  states, 
counties  and  cities  there  are  possibly  500,000.  (No 
one  can  now  give  the  exact  number.)  Special  laws 
declaring  for  the  merit  test  rather  than  the  party 
test  of  new  employes  have  been  passed  in  the  fol- 
lowing states  for  almost  all  state  offices:  Colorado, 
Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Wisconsin, 
Illinois. 

In  addition,  about  200  leading  cities  have  in  their 
charters  or  by  special  law  provided  for  merit  tests. 
For  city,  state  and  nation  there  are  officers  whose 
sole  business  it  is  to  prepare  questions  for  civil 
service  examinations,  to  conduct  these  examinations, 
to  list  eligible  employes  and  to  guard  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  civil  service  or  merit  law. 

Voluntary  associations  in  cities  and  states  and  for 
the  nation  watch  the  working  of  civil  service  laws. 
To  learn  which  cities  and  states  have  civil  service 


348     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

reform  associations,  how  these  were  organized  and 
how  the  merit  system  is  applied,  write  to  the  National 
Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  New  York  City. 

Civil  service  has  progressed  so  far  that  few  cor- 
rupt men  dare  to  attack  it.  Everybody  now  con- 
cedes that  to  the  victor  should  belong  not  the  spoils 
but  the  opportunity  to  render  public  service  and 
obligation  to  be  efficient. 

Curiously  the  severest  public  complaints  against 
civil  service  now  come  from  "  good  men  "  officials. 
They  complain  that  they  cannot  get  rid  of  inefficient 
civil  service  employes  if  these  are  under  civil  ser\ 
and  that  if  they  do  succeed  in  dismissing  some  man 
they  secure  from  the  civil  service  eligible  list  some 
one  else  who  is  no  better. 

Four  defects  you  will  find  in  the  administration  of 
the  civil  service  or  merit  system  in  your  state  or  city : 

1.  The  questions  asked  have  not  been   caleiilah-d 
to  discover  the  fitness  of  a  man  for  a  particular 
task;  for  example,  instead  of  asking  candidates 
for  superintendency  of  public  baths  what  is  in- 
volved  in   running   public   baths    and   how   the 
work  should  be  done,  we  have  asked  such  ques- 
tions as  "  How  long  would  it  take  a  tank  13 
feet  deep  and  30  feet  wide  and  75  feet  long  to 
empty   itself  from   a   vent   one   inch   in   diame- 
ter? " 

2.  After-appointment-merit  has   not  been   discov- 
erable because  public  departments  have  failed  to 
keep  records  of  work  done  and  other  tests  of 
efficiency  that  fairly  reflect  the  merit  of  an  em- 
ploye;   most   departments   have   even    failed   to 


DEFECTS  OF  CIVIL  SERVICE        349 

keep  time  sheets  to  show  the  presence  or  absence 
of  employes. 

3.  Uncongeniality  has  not  been  recognized  as   a 
cause  for  transfer  or  removal.     Dr.  Henry  M. 
Leipziger,  the  father  of  public  lectures  in  pub- 
lic schools,  frequently  complains  of  this  defect 
on  the  ground  that  an  uncongenial  office  assist- 
ant may  easily  decrease  the  working  efficiency 
of  others  in  the  office,  including  his  supervisors, 
by  25%.     He  thinks  a  gaping  dress,  uncleanly 
or  slovenly  habits,  bad  temper,  etc.,  should  be 
sufficient    reason     for     dismissal     from    public 
service  if  they  are  bad  enough  to  be  disagreeable 
to  colleagues  at  work. 

4.  Too  little  freedom  of  exit  has  been  permitted. 
The  original  idea  of  civil  service  reform  was  to 
apply  merit  tests  for  appointment,  for  promo- 
tion and  for  retention  and  not  to  build  up  an 
office  holding  class  to  feel  that  their  country 
or  city  should  take  care  of  them  for  the  rest  of 
their  lives.     Many  friends  of  the  merit  system 
believe  that  we  would  get  a  better  result  if  we 
gave    almost   unlimited    freedom   to    officers    to 
dismiss  employes  so  long  as  we  keep  from  them 
the  power  to  name  new  employes,  and,  secondly, 
so  long  as  we  hold  them  rigidly  accountable  for 
efficient  management  of  their  offices. 

Before  civil  service  employes  receive  their  pay  it 
is  usually  necessary  for  some  civil  service  commission 
to  certify  that  men  are  doing  the  work  for  which 
they  were  appointed.  Instead  of  making  inquiries 
which  they  have  the  power  to  make,  most  of  these 
commissions  have  gone  on  signing  certificates  in  spite 
of  padded  payrolls,  absence  from  service  and  innu- 


350     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

merable  other  violations  of  the  civil  service  laws. 
Hostlers  have  been  given  soft  berths  in  offices  as 
bookkeepers;  civil  engineers  have  been  engaged  as 
hospital  superintendents;  hospital  helpers  have  acted 
as  purchasing  agents.  For  such  violations  there  is 
absolutely  no  excuse.  They  nullify  and  discredit  the 
merit  system,  but  the  explanation  is  we  have  thought 
too  much  of  protecting  men  from  political  interfer- 
ence and  too  little  of  insuring  efficient  service. 

Making  a  fetish  of  "  civil  service  "  forms  means 
giving  respectability  to  many  forms  of  misgovern- 
ment. 

The  latest  and  most  advanced  proposition  for  ex- 
tending the  merit  and  efficiency  system  is  a  bill  sub- 
mitted to  the  1911  Illinois  Legislature  by  the  Illinois 
Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  Chicago.  Of  par- 
ticular help  will  be  its  provision  for  "  standardization. 
of  employment  in  all  included  positions  and  efficiency 
records  of  individual  employes  and  employes  in 
groups." 

In  New  York  City  a  committee  of  the  board  of 
estimate  and  apportionment  is  now  conducting  an 
inquiry  into  salaries  and  grades  of  85,000  perma- 
nent employes  and  in  the  working  of  the  civil  service 
law.  This  study  has  in  mind  careful  efficiency 
records.  For  its  results,  address  the  board  of  es- 
timate and  apportionment.  Dr.  Elliot  H.  Good- 
win's summary  of  civil  service  to  date  will  be  found 
in  the  National  Municipal  League  proceedings  for 
1910. 


TEST  YOUR  MERIT  SYSTEM        351 

Have  you  a  state  civil  service  association? 

Have  you  a  local  civil  service  association? 

Has  your  state  a  law  providing  for  civil  service 

for  state  offices? 
Has  your  state  a  law  providing  for  civil  service  in 

cities  ? 
Is   civil   service   especially   provided   for   in   your 

city's  charter? 

Is  the  law  efficiently  enforced? 
Are  there  individual  efficiency  records? 
Does  the  civil  service  commission  approve  payrolls 

without  knowing  whether  men  have  been  work- 
ing according  to  law? 
Does  the  civil  service  commission  make  an  annual 

report? 

Have  you  ever  seen  one? 
Do  the  newspapers  print  it? 
Does  it  point  out  needed  changes  in  the  merit  law 

or  in  method  of  enforcing  it? 
Do  officials  claim  that  civil  service  stands  in  the 

way  of  efficiency? 
Are  many   civil   service  employes  reinstated  with 

back  pay  because  officers  do  not  comply   with 

the  law  in  dismissing  them? 
Do  your  reformers  after  election  to  office  complain 

against  the  civil  service  law? 
Would  your  woman's  club  be  interested  in  learning 

whether  civil  service  is  a  merit  system  or  an  ob- 
struction to  efficient  government? 

A  Business  Doctor  for  Uncle  Sam 

Quietly  but  with  results  that  promise  to  transcend 
any  significant  government  reforms  which  have  ever 
been  effected,  the  President's  Inquiry  into  Economy 
and  Efficiency  is  being  prosecuted  at  Washington. 


352     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

The  head  of  the  efficiency  commission  is  Dr.  F.  A. 
Cleveland,  one  of  the  directors  and  founders  of  the 
New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research. 

Two  thousand  government  employes  and  officials 
are  supplying  information  and  acquiring  new  habits 
which  will  profoundly  affect  the  character  of  service 
in  the  smallest  government  unit  in  the  land. 

Documents  which  should  be  in  every  public  library 
and  in  the  hands  of  every  government  official  or  civic 
leader  wishing  to  substitute  efficiency  and  light  for 
darkness  and  chaos  in  public  business  will  follow  one 
another  in  swift  succession  for  the  next  few  years. 
These  documents  may  be  obtained  by  writing  to  the 
White  House,  Washington,  and  will  serve  both  as 
text  books  and  hand  books. 

Reasons  for  Efficiency  in  National  Business 

Long  before  President  Taft  secured  his  Bureau  of 
Efficiency  a  movement  was  begun  in  1910  to  start 
a  voluntary  organization  which  should  do  for  national 
business  what  various  bureaus  of  municipal  research 
are  doing  for  municipal  business;  $250,000  a  year 
for  five  years  was  tentatively  guaranteed. 

Although  this  movement  grew  into  President 
Taft's  plan  for  a  Congress-supported  agency,  the 
point  of  view  of  Mr.  Charles  A.  Coffin  who  origi- 
nated and  promoted  it  should  be  supported  by 
women : 

The  educational  motive  for  applying  sound  busi- 
ness methods  to  government  business  as  well  as 


TESTING  NATIONAL  BUSINESS      353 

to  private  business  is  appealed  to  constantly  by 
the  fact  that  government  business  is  largely 
conducted  in  defiance  of  business  laws  and  with 
too  little  intelligent  comprehension  on  the  part 
of  the  people 

The  business  motive  is  appealed  to  constantly  by 
government  acts  and  threatened  acts  tending  to 
jeopardize  the  safety  of  investments  in  private 
business,  because  government  agents  are  at- 
tempting to  regulate  the  relations  of  private  to 
public  business  in  ignorance  of  the  facts  of 
both 

The  proposed  national  fund  of  citizen  inquiry  and 
citizen  cooperation  with  national  officials  should 
be,  not  a  temporary  means  of  correcting  defects 
in  government  business,  but  a  means  of  con- 
tinuously and  progressively  educating  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  to  sound  and  just  prin- 
ciples and  methods  of  conducting  public  busi- 
ness. 


354     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 


ENDOWED  Civic  RESEARCH 

An  interesting  step  in  the  work  of  improving 
municipal  administration  through  skilled 
study  and  research  is  announced  in  the  city 
of  Hoboken,  where  Mrs.  Robert  Livingston 
Stevens  has  given  in  memory  of  her  late  hus- 
bund  a  fund  yielding  an  income  of  $4,000  a 
year,  for  this  purpose,  which  is  to  be  ad- 
ministered by  the  New  York  Bureau  of  Mu- 
nicipal Research.  .  .  . 

We  do  not  know  that  Hoboken  needs  such 
service  either  more  or  less  than  the  average 
American  city,  but  we  are  quite  sure  that  if  its 
need  is  merely  an  average  one  it  is  very 
great.  In  our  complex  social  organism  the 
work  of  municipal  administration  is  one  of  the 
most  important  and  the  most  difficult  which 
have  to  be  performed  for  the  common  good. 
Hitherto  it  has  been  developed  much  as  most 
of  our  cities  have  been  built,  in  a  hit-or-miss 
fashion,  and  without  a  tithe  of  the  scientific 
thought  and  application  •which  are  given  to 
the  organization  and  conduct  of  relatively 
insignificant  corporations  of  other  kinds. 
To  provide  upon  a  permanent  basis  for  the 
careful  study  of  municipal  problems  and  pro- 
cesses and  for  expert  supervision  or  scrutiny 
of  their  actual  administration  is  a  public  bene- 
faction as  great  and  practical  as  it  is  novel, 
and  the  City  of  Hoboken  is  to  be  congratulated 
upon  being  the  recipient  of  such  provision. 
We  shall  hope,  because  of  actual  results,  to 
be  able  to  add  that  its  example  is  to  be 
emulated  by  other  municipalites. 

New  York  Tribune. 


Part  of  Efficient  Citizenship  No.  284 

Bureau  of  Municipal  Research 

261  Broadway 


XIII 

WOMAN'S  PART  IN  TRAINING  MEN  AND 

WOMEN  TO  PARTICIPATE  IN 

GOVERNMENT 


IN  the  foregoing  pages  I  have  indicated  my  belief 
that  women  can  train  themselves  to  participate  effi- 
ciently in  government,  whether  they  vote  or  not. 
Hardly  a  step  has  been  suggested  that  some  woman 
somewhere  has  not  taken,  either  directly  by  personal 
service,  or  indirectly  through  others  equipped  to  ren- 
der the  service  efficiently. 

If  it  be  suggested  that  no  one  woman  should  be 
expected  to  be  intelligently  interested  in  all  of  the 
proposed  tests  please  rejoin  that  neither  should  any 
one  woman  be  all  alone  in  the  world,  but,  that  on  the 
contrary  there  are  millions  of  fellow-women  who  may 
and  must  be  enlisted. 

As  woman's  part  in  government  is  threefold  so  her 
part  in  setting  new  standards  of  training  for  par- 
ticipation in  government  is  threefold:  Training 
herself  for  an  individual's  part;  training  herself  for 
efficiency  in  team  work ;  training  others. 

For  an  example  of  self -training  for  one  woman's 
part,  I  refer  students  to  the  work  of  Mrs.  Caroline 
B.  Alexander  of  New  Jersey,  which  reflects  in  an  un- 
usual degree  the  power  to  give  and  to  do  efficiently, 
and  to  get  efficiently  done,  for  her  home,  for  her 
social  circles,  for  the  educational,  charitable,  correc- 
tional and  civic  interests  of  her  city,  county  and 
state. 

For  illustrations  of  young  women  now  training 
357 


358     WOMAN'S  PART  IN  GOVERNMENT 

themselves  for  leadership  and  professional  service  in 
civic  fields,  I  refer  to  a  number  of  workers,  volunteer 
and  paid,  with  the  New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal 
Research  and  the  three  Schools  of  Philanthropy. 

For  proof  of  the  unlimited  field  for  participation 
in  government  open  to  those  women  able  and  wishing 
to  give  money  as  well  as  interest  and  time,  I  refer 
to  what  I  regard  as  the  most  significant  forward  step 
taken  in  the  field  of  American  philanthropy  or  gov- 
ernment in  a  generation, —  the  founding  by  Mrs.  E. 
H.  Harriman  —  and  a  group  of  business  men  whom 
she  has  first  interested,  then  convinced  and  then  in- 
spired with  enthusiasm  for  the  possibilities  of  efficient 
democracy, —  of  a  national  fund  for  training  in  the 
study  and  management  of  public  business. 

This  training  is  to  be  through  field  work,  i.e.,  do- 
ing work  that  needs  to  be  done  for  government  first 
in  New  York  City,  but  gradually  in  other  places  as 
workers,  funds  and  needs  present  themselves. 

By  the  time  this  book  reaches  the  reader  the 
National  Training  School  will  have  been  announced. 
For  details  as  to  the  five-year  experiment,  write  to  the 
Bureau  of  Municipal  Research,  New  York  City. 

Its  purpose,  like  the  purpose  of  this  book,  is  not 
to  subordinate  vision  and  motive  to  efficiency,  but 
in  Mrs.  Harriman's  words  "  to  point  out  ways  of 
working  together  so  that  everyone  may  have  oppor- 
tunity to  become  efficient." 


INDEX 


INDEX 


100% 

300%,  woman  should  see,  5; 
of  opportunity  in  voting, 
39;  in  testing  evidence,  96; 
only  common  denominator, 
96;  shown  only  in  budget, 
114;  in  official  reports,  130; 
of  community  needs,  134, 
164;  in  Memphis  child-wel- 
fare work,  135;  view  often 
lost  in  private  charities, 
161;  appeals  by  Cleveland 
Chamber  of  Commerce, 
165;  of  philanthropy  by 
government,  166;  of  inter- 
est in  100%  of  babies,  200; 
of  educational  opportunity, 
239;  of  child  problem  in 
school,  247;  in  giving,  248; 
of  school  health  needs,  253; 
in  civic  instruction,  272;  of 
police  study,  300,  304;  in 
taxation,  342. 


Academy  of  Science  for 
Women,  6. 

"  Acceleration,"  before  direct 
primaries,  66;  to  sham  pub- 
lic opinion,  110;  of  pas- 
teurization, 193;  of  pupils, 
257. 

Addams,  Miss  Jane,  14. 

Adenoids,  home  must  cor- 
rect, 3. 


361 


Advertising,  for  good  causes, 
164;  unmet  needs,  168;  by 
patent  medicines,  208;  by 
health  departments,  210. 

Ahearn,  John  F.,  recalled,  75, 
335. 

Alexander,  Mrs.  Caroline  B., 
357. 

Allied  Civic  Organizations, 
338. 

Allied  Real  Estate  Interests, 
115. 

American  Ass'n  for  Improv- 
ing Labor  Legislation,  111. 

American  Ass'n  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Infant  Mortal- 
ity, 204. 

American  Civic  Ass'n,  144. 

American  Soc.  of  Sanitary 
and  Moral  Prophylaxis, 
296. 

Alcoholism,  drugs  to  cure, 
4;  women's  part  in,  18;  ref- 
erendum on,  69;  unit  of 
inquiry,  92;  and  patent 
medicines,  208 ;  how  prohibi- 
tion is  made  to  fail,  297; 
local  cost,  297;  in  Oregon, 
299;  study  needed  of  excise, 
305. 

Anti-suffrage  hand  books,  30. 

Appealing,  see  Giving. 

Architects,  see  Buildings. 

Art,  comes  to  homes,  3;  for 
schools  by  volunteers,  245; 
see  Beauty  making. 


362 


INDEX 


Assessing,  woman's  part  in, 
338-342;  paying  vs.  swear- 
ing off,  340. 

Australia,  woman's  voting,  20. 

Averages  mislead,  256. 

Audit,  not  done  by  ballot,  84; 
of  charitable  institutions, 
163;  report  by  Bureau  of 
Municipal  Research,  173;  of 
police  records,  302 ;  evidence 
in  public  business,  315 ;  con- 
tracts and  specifications 
should  be  clear,  322;  in  in- 
spection, 327-329 ;  every 
person's  part  recorded,  328; 
weakest  oh  payrolls,  328; 
may  mean  blackmail,  328 ;  by 
Civil  Service  Commissions, 
351;  see  Inspection. 

B 

Baby  saving,  women  should 
understand,  5;  woman's  su- 
periority, 19;  need  for  hand 
books,  30;  pin  maps  show 
need,  95;  baby  deaths  sep- 
arate, 99;  leaflets  for  milk 
dealers,  141 ;  breast-fed 
babies,  195;  23  questions, 
198;  home  vs.  hospital  care, 
199,  205;  the  pacifier  men- 
ace, 199;  tests  of  success, 
203-204;  sickness  rate,  204; 
school  for  expectant  moth- 
ers, 205;  pacifying  with 
drugs,  208 ;  protecting 
mother  in  private  service, 
235;  vs.  fight  on  gambling, 
279;  interests  fewer  women 
than  social  evil,  292. 

Backward  pupils,  see  School. 

Balance  sheet,  easy  to  under- 
stand, 811;  indispensable, 
312;  Philadelphia's  model, 
313;  one  found  deficient, 
330. 


Ballots  do  not,  describe  candi- 
dates, 105;  make  platforms, 
106;  study  proposed  laws, 
108;  watch  legislation,  111; 
make  budgets,  115;  attend 
hearings,  117;  watch  State 
budget,  125;  give  up-to-date 
facts,  126;  write  official  re- 
ports, 128;  offer  opportunity 
for  continuous  service,  133; 
stop  contagion,  182;  dis- 
cover disease-bearing  water, 
189;  make  mothers  intelli- 
gent, 199;  detect  impure 
food  and  drugs,  20(i 
note  factory  conditions,  J 1  - ; 
stop  child  labor,  216;  locate 
housing  evils,  219;  clean 
streets,  222;  dispose  of  ref- 
use, 228;  keep  schools 
clean,  251;  give  children 
clean  teeth,  254;  stop  ir- 
regular attendance, 
learn  causes  of  non-promo- 
tion, 257;  keep  children  at 
school,  262;  choose  efficient 
teachers,  266;  write  school 
stories,  269;  give  civic  in- 
struction, 271;  insure  de- 
cency, 280;  administer  jus- 
tice, 283;  supervise  proba- 
tion, 286;  manage  children's 
courts,  289;  patronize  social 
evil,  291;  account  or  graft, 
314;  purchase,  320;  audit, 
327;  oversee  building,  331; 
see  that  revenues  are  paid, 
343;  draw  f ranch! -«•<.  Sll; 
train  for  citizenship,  357; 
see  Voting. 

Beauty  making,  reasons  for 
municipal  art,  142;  supervi- 
sion, 142;  seeing  is  believ- 
ing, 144;  begins  at  home, 
145;  street  begging  hostile 
to,  145;  and  making  clean, 


INDEX 


863 


228;  in  New  York's  City 
Hall,  331. 

Bellevue  Hospital,  321. 

Benefactions,  see  Giving. 

Biggs,  Herman  A.,  207. 

Bossism,  thrives  on  party 
solidarity,  65;  with  direct 
nominations,  66;  in  commis- 
sion government,  77;  under 
fewer  elections,  81. 

Boston,  direct  nominations, 
67;  recall,  75. 

Boston  Dispensary,  report,  95. 

Bourne,  Senator  Jonathan, 
Jr.,  72. 

Breast  feeding,  see  Baby  sav- 
ing. 

Brentano,  Simon,  336. 

Bribery,  see  Graft. 

Bruere,  Henry,  79. 

Brooklyn  baby  saving,  202. 

Brooklyn  Children's  Aid  So- 
ciety, 194. 

Brooklyn  Eagle,  school  col- 
umn, 269. 

Brown,  Elmer  E.,  275. 

Bryan,  William  J.,  43. 

Budget,  social  workers'  pro- 
test, 92;  exhibits,  95,  114, 
204,  231,  320;  use  of  per- 
centages, 96;  making,  114- 
117,  173,  174;  sermons  on, 
115;  hearings,  115,  117;  a 
fkrce  unless,  122;  women 
have  neglected,  118;  Oregon 
woman  helping,  124;  oppose 
star  chamber,  124;  state, 
defects  of,  125;  tentative, 
120,  122;  more  important 
than  model  houses,  220;  in- 
creases for  schools,  volun- 
teer interest  in,  245;  tells 
100%  school  needs,  272. 

Building  department,  should 
inspect  plans,  219;  rural 
supervision  needed,  333. 

Bureau     of     Municipal     Re- 


search, study  of  commission 
government,  79;  accounting 
methods  for  New  York  City, 
92;  shows  budget  growth, 
96;  first  budget  exhibit, 
115;  for  budget-making 
story,  115,  120,  123;  health 
budget,  116;  Efficient  Citi- 
zenship bulletins,  127;  urges 
official  budget  exhibit,  128; 
will  analyze  reports,  130; 
founded  by  R.  Fulton  Cut- 
ting, 151,  170;  reads  and 
analyzes  appeals,  165 ; 
method  of  investigation, 
170,  171;  programme,  171; 
cost  of  results,  172;  publica- 
tions, 173,  233;  civic  co- 
operation with  schools,  244; 
knows  about  school  inquiry, 
247;  Dorothy  Whitney  fund, 
247;  suggests  health  index, 
253;  on  non-promotion,  258, 
261;  itinerant  school  testers, 
268;  plan  of  police  study, 
304;  National  Fund  for 
Promoting  Efficient  Munic- 
ipal Accounting  and  Re- 
porting, 314;  survey  of 
Montclair,  329 ;  discovered 
building  bribes,  334;  Phila- 
delphia and  Cincinnati,  335 ; 
New  York's  Ahearn  Case, 
335;  connection  with  U.  S. 
efficiency  commission,  352; 
training  for  government, 
358;  National  Training 
Fund,  358. 

Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency, 
346. 


Cambridge,  preferential  vote, 

61. 
Carnegie  Foundation,  208,  274, 

275. 


364 


INDEX 


Caroline  Rest  Endowment 
Fund,  170,  205. 

Carrie-Nationing,  dubious,  27- 
28. 

Catching,  see  Transmissible 
Diseases. 

Census,  see  School. 

Challengers,  a£  registration, 
36;  women  act  as,  36. 

Chambers  of  Commerce,  hand 
books,  31;  Cleveland's  (O.) 
plan  for  appealing,  165; 
and  balance  sheets,  314. 

Charge  account,  woman's,  4. 

Charities,  see  Giving. 

Charter  making,  see  Topics. 

Chicago,  popular  parks,  232; 
mothers  ask  questions,  249. 

Chicago  Bureau  of  Public 
Efficiency,  346. 

Chicago  Society  of  Social  Hy- 
giene, 296. 

Child  labor,  and  fraudulent 
appeals,  165;  your  part  in 
stopping,  216-219;  commit- 
tees, state  and  national,  217; 
condition,  employment  and 
age  tests,  217;  laws  and 
school  attendance,  218. 

Children's  bureau,  national, 
237. 

Children's  court,  see  Proba- 
tion. 

Church,  comes  to  home,  3; 
faces  modern  problems,  3; 
women  support,  7;  one  tries 
evidence,  87;  budget  Sun- 
day, 114,  115;  and  efficient 
government,  150;  do  or  get 
done,  151;  humanizing,  152; 
clubs  need  social  pro- 
gramme, 153;  plan  for 
speakers,  153;  ministers' 
vacations,  154;  need  venti- 
lation, 220;  told  about 
segregation,  294. 


Cincinnati  Bureau  of  Munici- 
pal Research,  on  paving 
contracts,  335. 

City  Beautiful,  see  Beauty 
making. 

City  Club,  New  York  City, 
346. 

City  debt,  reports  on,  173. 

Civic  agencies,  need  efficiency 
tests,  133;  directories  of, 
133;  cooperation  with  pub- 
lic schools,  21 1 . 

Civics  and  Health,  253,  299. 

Civil  service,  see  Merit  sys- 
tem. 

Classification  of  evidence,  87- 
100. 

Cleveland,  Frederick  A.,  91, 
352. 

Cleveland,  O.,  milk  score 
cards,  195;  100%  appealing, 
165. 

Clippings,  see  Press. 

Coffin,  Charles  A.,  352. 

College  women,  opportunities 
for  service  through  schools, 
244. 

CoUicSs  Weekly,  211. 

Colorado,  woman's  vote,  20, 
21. 

Commission  government,  edu- 
cational tests,  60;  short  cut, 
77-79;  claims  contradicted, 
77;  New  York  City's,  78; 
field  study,  79;  aid  to  poli- 
tician, 81. 

Commissioner  of  accounts, 
324. 

Committee  on  Congestion. 
221. 

Committee  of  Safety,  338. 

Comparison,  in  evidence,  87- 
100;  of  milk  tests  needed 
with  work  done,  196. 

Competitive  bidding,  for  con- 
tracts, 330;  for  concessions, 
342. 


INDEX 


365 


Compulsory  education  and 
compulsory  health,  251 ;  and 
courts,  291. 

Congestion,  see  Overcrowding;. 

Contracts,  see  Audit. 

Convention,  see  Nominations. 

Cosmopolitan,  The,  155. 

Cost  of,  investigations,  172; 
transmissible  diseases,  187, 
224;  patent  medicine  adver- 
tising, 210;  street  cleaning, 
223;  living,  228;  refuse  dis- 
posal to  taxpayer,  229; 
parks,  232,  233;  supervised 
play,  233 ;  understanding 
schools,  246;  not  examining 
children,  252;  children  who 
do  not  register,  255;  non- 
promotions,  261 ;  probation 
officers,  287 ;  community 
drink  bill,  297;  new  build- 
ings, 331. 

Corrections,  public,  your  part 
in,  280-283;  four  general 
tests,  281;  security  for  rich 
offenders,  283;  maudlin  in- 
terest in  criminals,  284;  in- 
spection badly  needed,  285; 
not  yet  studied,  305. 

Corruption,  see  Graft. 

Counting,  in  evidence,  87-100. 

Courts,  not  ballots,  administer 
justice,  83;  should  punish 
violations  of  milk  law,  193, 
195;  should  help  control 
factory  conditions,  214;  on 
violations  in  factories,  215; 
and  corrections,  281;  super- 
vised probation,  287;  ques- 
tions about  probation,  289; 
special  hours  for  children, 
289;  on  probation,  298; 
should  be  studied,  305; 
"thrown"  cases,  306. 

Credit  account,  woman's,  4. 

Crime  and  Social  Progress, 
287. 


Curtis,  William  J.,  137. 
Cutting,  R.  Fulton,  151,  170. 

D 

Death  rate,  by  ages,  99;  from 
preventable  diseases,  183; 
baby,  jumps  up  in  Sum- 
mer, 203;  in  hospitals  and 
homes,  205;  more  indecent 
than  gambling,  279. 

Decency,  public,  tests,  279. 

De  Lima,  Miss  Agnes,  155. 

Denison,  Miss  Elsa,  244. 

Dental  hygiene,  see  Schools. 

Denver  Municipal  Facts,  126. 

Department  of  School  Pa- 
trons, 249. 

Department  store,  women 
support,  7;  and  social  evil, 
293. 

Desire  to  know,  in  evidence, 
87-100;  by  fiscal  officers, 
121. 

Des  Moines,  direct  nomina- 
tions, 67;  commission,  78. 

Diet  kitchens,  saving  babies, 
194. 

Direct,  see  Nominations. 

Disposal  of  refuse,  see  Ref- 
use. 

District  nurses,  see  Nurses. 

Dix,  Governor  John  A.,  44. 

Drugs,  dangers,  207-208. 

E 

Editors,  see  Press. 

Educational  tests  for  voters, 
58. 

Educational  Review,  50  crit- 
icisms, 244;  non-promotion 
in  1891,  259. 

Education  board,  see  Schools. 

Efficiency  Commission,  Presi- 
dent's, see  National  Busi- 
ness. 


366 


INDEX 


Efficient  Citizenship,  120;  bul- 
letins, 32,  50,  100,  276, 
308,  354;  Philadelphia  Citi- 
zens' Business  Series,  127; 
sent  to  superintendents  and 
city  officials,  173;  on  school 
health  index,  253;  on  non- 
promotion,  261. 

Elections,  see  Voting. 

Eliot,  Charles  W.,  63. 

Employer's  liability  in  Ore- 
gon, 69,  70. 

Encyclopedia  Britannica, 

woman's  part,  6. 

Engineering  News,  335. 

Erie  assessment  tests,  338. 

Estimate  and  apportionment, 
board  of,  New  York  City's 
commission,  78;  budget  ex- 
hibit, 115;  invites  women  to 
participate,  117;  charities 
inquiry,  162;  school  inquiry, 
247;  might  study  police 
efficiency,  307;  standardiz- 
ing salaries  and  grades,  350. 

Ethics  of  fire  fraud,  337. 

Evening  Journal,  The,  203. 

Evening  World,  The,  203. 

Evidence,  of  unsuccessful 
short-cuts,  82;  controls  pub- 
lic officials,  82;  and  know- 
ing, 88;  record  is  the  test, 
90;  eight  ingredients,  90; 
parallel  columns,  94;  pin 
maps,  95;  strengthens  tax- 
payers' organizations,  120; 
needed  in  probation  work, 
286;  testing  police  effi- 
ciency, 306;  current,  as  to 
public  business,  315. 

Eye-defects,  home  to  correct, 
3. 


Factory      conditions,      waste 
purified,  190;  women  should 


know,  212-216;  16  questions 

on,    214;     references,    ~'15; 

watched  by  factory  women, 

216;   special   provisions    for 

women,  235. 
Filtration    plants,    reference, 

190. 
Finance      department,      New 

York   City,   174. 
Fire   protection,   in    factories, 

214;     when     efficient,     335; 

minimum  precautions,  337; 

lectures  on,  337;  references, 

338. 

Flies,  not  from  Providence,  5. 
Folks,  Homer,  116. 
Foods,  impure,  206-207. 
Franchises,  women  can  ques- 
tion, 344;  in  the  open,  346; 

references,    346. 


Gambling,  more  decent  than 
killing  babies,  279;  flour- 
ishes only  with  police  help, 
300. 

Garbage,  in  cost  of  living, 
228;  see  Disposal. 

Gaynor,  William  J.,  76,  78, 
90,  94,  117,  128,  221,  304, 
345. 

Germs,  see  Baby  saving. 

Getting  things  done,  vs.  vot- 
ing, 5;  need  for  hand  book 
on,  30;  vs.  new  plans,  239; 
see  100%. 

Giving,  appeals  come  to 
homes,  3;  withholding  taxes, 
5,  340;  opportunity  for,  43; 
inadequate  private  relief, 
158;  everybody  taxed  for 
private  agencies,  160;  ap- 
peals to  rich,  163;  10  tests 
of  appeals,  163-164;  fraud- 
ulent collectors,  164;  phi- 
lanthropy's wastebaskot, 
165;  efficient  will  making, 


INDEX 


367 


166;  no  right  to  injure 
others,  167;  givers  entitled 
to  alternatives,  168;  action 
on  alternatives,  169;  pri- 
vate should  not  supplant 
public,  201;  interest  in 
charities  greater  than  in 
schools,  244,  247;  benefiting 
100%,  248;  for  removal  of 
physical  defects,  254;  see 
Relief. 
Good  intention,  uninformed, 

5. 

Goodwin,  Elliot  H.,  350. 
Government,  the  greatest  ben- 
efactor, 166;  see  Topics. 
Governor's    Conference,    plat- 
forms, 108. 

Graft,  woman's  part  in,  19— 
20;  woman's  fight  against, 
25;  never  an  open  issue,  26; 
by  waste,  64,  65;  not  neces- 
sary for  recall,  75;  in  com- 
mission government,  77,  81; 
less  harmful  than  ignorance, 
82;  in  charitable  appeals, 
164;  keeping  -children  from 
school,  255;  police  efficiency, 
300;  outwitted  only  by  ac- 
counting, 315;  holding  up 
plans,  333;  builders,  334; 
franchise,  345. 
Guilfoy,  William  H.,  186. 

H 

Hall,  Arthur  Cleveland,  287. 

Hamilton,  John  A.,  79. 

Hand  Book,  Debater's,  on 
suffrage,  13;  on  next-steps 
needed,  30;  referendum,  72. 

Harriman,  Mrs.  E.  H.,  has 
appeals  studied,  165;  estab- 
lishes national  training 
school,  268,  358. 

Health,  Civics  and,  253,  299. 

Health  department,  comes  to 


homes,  3;  should  classify 
deaths,  99;  budget  estimate, 
116;  ineffective  inspection  of 
food,  116;  permits  tubercu- 
lous meat,  116;  instructs 
mothers  at  milk  stations, 
194;  voluntary  associations, 
177;  next  steps,  178;  travel- 
ing exhibits,  179;  health- 
grams,  180;  cooperation  in 
saving  babies,  198;  on  pat- 
ent medicines,  211;  inspects 
drugs,  208;  jingles,  239; 
veterinarian's  success,  247. 

Health  Index  of  Children,  253. 

Healthgrams,   180. 

Health,  state  boards,  travel- 
ing exhibits,  179;  health- 
grams,  180;  programme  of 
conference,  181 ;  dairy  in- 
spection, 195,  197;  reports 
late,  196;  should  supervise 
placing  out  of  infants,  199; 
baby  saving,  204;  adver- 
tised foods,  206. 

Hearings,  see  Budget. 

High  School  of  Commerce, 
267. 

Hill,  Frederick  Trevor,  114. 

Hoag,  Ernest  Bryant,  253. 

Home  care,  see  Baby  saving. 

Hospitals,  evolution  of  social 
programme,  95;  care  for 
babies,  199,  205;  volunteer 
interest,  244;  waste  on  sup- 
plies, 321;  combine  to  buy, 
326. 

Housing,  seo  Overcrowding. 

Hughes,  Charles  E.,  9,  41, 
75,  76,  125. 

Hutchinson,  John  H.,  253. 

Hyatt,  Edward,  275. 


Ice,  for  clean  milk,  190,  198. 
Idaho,  woman's  vote,  20. 


INDEX 


Illinois  Civil  Service  Reform 
Ass'n,  350. 

Immigrants,  naturalization 
tests,  61;  agencies  to  be 
studied,  305. 

Ingram,  Mrs.  Helene,  170. 

Initiative,  as  short  cut,  73- 
74;  danger  in,  74;  more 
elections,  79;  will  disap- 
point, 81 ;  advocates  neglect 
taxpayers'  hearings,  117;  in 
women's  clubs,  140. 

Inside,  world  is  against,  4. 

Inspection,  of  goods,  not  done 
by  ballot,  84;  of  food,  116; 
by  women,  208;  of  build- 
ings, started  by  women,  141 ; 
for  safeguards,  332;  of 
dairies,  197;  of  drugs,  208; 
of  goods  on  delivery,  322; 
lack  of,  causes  waste,  325; 
see  Audit. 

Interest,  woman's,  outside  her 
home,  3;  grows  with  eco- 
nomic relations,  4. 


"Jokers,"  see  Legislation. 

Joyner,  J.  Y.,  275. 

Judges,   danger   of   recalling, 

74,  77. 
Juvenile  courts,  see  Probation. 

K 

Kellor,  Miss  Frances,  215. 


La  Follette's  Magazine,  68. 

Legislation,  tests  of  new  laws, 
108-1 10 ;  «  acceleration," 
110;  watching,  111;  refer- 
ences, 111;  building  codes, 
330. 

Legislative  reference  library, 
for  information  on  referen- 


dum, 67,  71;  on  initiative, 
74;  on  commission  govern- 
ment, 79;  on  legislative 
processes,  111;  history  of 
starting,  113;  on  franchises, 
346. 

Lewis,  Orlando  F.,  163. 

Library,  legislative,  67,  71,  74, 
79 ;  reference,  for  every  city, 
108,  113-114,  219;  report  of 
national  committee,  113; 
traveling,  147 ;  children's 
room,  147;  John  Ernest, 
148. 

Liquor  question,  see  Alcohol- 
ism. 

Lindsey,  Ben.  B.,  20. 

Loan  sharks,  references,  156. 

Low,  Seth,  47,  63. 


Manual  of  Accounting  and 
Business  Procedure. 

Man  voter,  when  exploited,  53. 

Magazines,  come  to  home,  3; 
systematizing  use  of,  103; 
sources  of  power,  103-105; 
discussed  physical  defects, 
248. 

Magistrates,  see  Courts. 

Massachusetts  Direct  Legisla- 
tion League,  67,  71,  74. 

McAneny,  George,  267,  336. 

McCarthy,  Charles,  113. 

McClellan,  George  B.,  41,  65, 
118,  119. 

Medical  colleges,  209. 

Memorials,  see  Giving. 

Memphis  Children's  Protec- 
tive Union,  135. 

Method,  vs.  purpose,  25;  in 
national  elections,  26;  neg- 
lected in  government,  28;  in 
housekeeping,  29;  training 
in,  358. 


INDEX 


369 


Merit  system,  under  long 
term,  80;  tests  for  public 
service,  346;  national  em- 
ploy 6s  under,  847;  200  cities 
under,  347;  four  defects, 
348-349;  Illinois  Ass'n,  350; 
appeal  on  discharge,  350; 
standardizing  salaries  and 
grades,  350;  16  questions, 
351. 

Metz,  Herman  A.,  Fund,  79, 
120,  123,  312,  314,  323,  328, 
344. 

Meyers,  Gustav,  89. 

Midwives,  supervision,  198. 

Milk,  clean,  190-197;  low  tem- 
perature, 190;  relation  to 
public  health,  191 ;  minimum 
tests  for,  192;  bacteria 
counts,  192;  pasteurization, 
192;  the  grocer,  193;  teach- 
ing mothers  how  to  keep 
clean,  194;  score  cards,  195; 
state  responsible,  197;  see 
also  Baby  saving. 

Milk  and  Its  Relation  to  Pub- 
lic Health,  191. 

Mitchel,  John  Purroy,  90. 

Montclair,  N.  J.,  milk  scores, 
192,  195;  business  survey, 
329. 

Moral  Education  Leaflets,  296. 

Moral  issues,  method  vs.  pur- 
pose in,  26;  no  opposition, 
26;  at  woman's  first  ballot, 
37,  39. 

Mosquitoes,  not  from  Prov- 
idence, 5. 

Moving  pictures,  pin  maps,  95. 

Municipal  art  commission, 
144. 

Municipal  Journal  and  En- 
gineering News,  225,  229. 

Municipal  Research,  see  Bu- 
reau. 


N 

National  Ass'n  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Imposture  and 
Mendicancy,  146. 

National  Ass'n  for  Preventing 
the  Pollution  of  Rivers  and 
Waterways,  190. 

National  bureau  of  health, 
and  transmissible  diseases, 
188,  211,  238. 

National  business,  Efficiency 
Commission,  91,  92;  pur- 
chasing supplies,  320,  328; 
citizen  cooperation,  351. 

Nat'l  Child  Labor  Committee, 
111,  217. 

Nat'l  children's  bureau,  237. 

Nat'l  City  Planning  Ass'n, 
144. 

Nat'l  Civil  Service  Reform 
Ass'n,  348. 

Nat'l  Consumers'  League,  213, 
214,  215,  235. 

Nat'l  Education  Ass'n,  38, 
130,  249,  272. 

Nat'l  Fire  Protection  Ass'n, 
338. 

Nat'l  Fund  for  Promoting  Ef- 
ficient Municipal  Account- 
ing and  Reporting,  see  Her- 
man A.  Metz. 

Nat'l  Housing  Ass'n,  220,  222. 

Nat'l  Municipal  League,  113, 
350. 

Nat'l  Playground  Ass'n,  233, 
234. 

Nat'l  Society  for  Promoting 
Pupil  Self-government,  262. 

Naturalization,  practical  tests, 
61. 

New  England  Mills  Co.,  336. 

New  Jersey,  State  Charities 
Aid  Ass'n,  informs  public 
opinion,  159. 

Newport  Civic  League,  140. 

Newspapers,  see  Press. 


370 


INDEX 


New  woman,  not  new,  8. 

New  York  City,  recall  of  bor- 
ough presidents,  75;  would 
have  recalled  Mayor  Gaynor, 
76;  Bureau  of  Municipal 
Research,  79;  looks  for  evi- 
dence, 89;  parallel  column, 
94;  public  records  public, 
137;  municipal  art  commis- 
sion, 143,  144;  baby  saving 
campaign,  194;  milk  score 
cards,  195;  school  inquiry, 
247;  figures  on  non-promo- 
tion, 258;  begins  to  study 
promotion,  260 ;  children 
dropping  from  school,  262; 
short  measures,  320;  $500,- 
000  saved  on  coal  alone, 
322;  watches  public  autos, 
324;  city  hall  restored  by 
Mrs.  Sage,  331;  standardiz- 
ing salaries  and  grades,  350 ; 
see  Estimate  and  Topics. 

N.  Y.  City  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs,  116. 

2V.  Y.  Evening  Post,  269. 

New  York  Globe,  school  page, 
269. 

New  York  Hebrew  Sheltering 
Guardian  Society,  264. 

New  York  Milk  Committee, 
191,  194. 

New  York  State  Charities  Aid 
Ass'n,  159. 

N.  Y.  State  Comm.  of  Educa- 
tion, 264. 

New  York  State  Consumers* 
League,  212. 

N.  Y.  State  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs,  215. 

Next  steps,  clearing  way  for, 
13;  results  of  method,  27; 
need  for  help  in,  35 ;  getting 
back  to,  81;  outweigh  vot- 
ing, 82;  in  revising  business 
methods,  174;  in  health  mat- 
ters, 178;  in  training,  357. 


Nominations,  woman's  first, 
36-38;  convention  for,  37; 
nine  practical  questions,  38; 
direct,  65;  in  Oregon,  66; 
in  Boston  and  Des  Moines, 
67;  references,  67,  71; 
bound  to  be  tried,  73;  ex- 
pensive, 83. 

Nurses,  come  to  homes,  3;  dis- 
trict, 17;  social  service,  95, 
x><)J;  instructing  mothers 
about  milk,  194;  for  baby 
saving,  205. 

Nurses'  Settlement,  baby  sav- 
ing, 203. 


Official  agencies,  see  100%. 

Official  reports,  as  sra  re-b- 
lights, 112;  why  so  educa- 
tional, 128;  more  important 
than  Red  Cross  Stainj)-. 
begin  with  social  service  de- 
partments, 129;  N.  E.  A. 
committee  for  schools,  130; 
Bureau  of  Municipal  Hr- 
search  will  analyze,  130;  11 
essentials,  130;  of  health  de- 
partments, 196;  by  civil 
service  commission,  351 ;  see 
School  reports. 

Oregon,  referendum  in,  68; 
other  states  copy,  71 ;  official 
voters'  hand  book,  "  - ; 
women  at  taxpayers'  hear- 
ings, 124. 

Oregon  Anti-Saloon  League, 
299. 

Oregon  Home  Rule  Ass'n,  299. 

Orphan  Asylums,  244;  see 
100%. 

Ottley,  Mrs.  John  K.,  215. 

Overcrowding,  crowd  of 
germs  not  people,  219; 
causes  and  remedies,  221- 
222;  tenement  inspection 
studied,  174,  305. 


INDEX 


371 


Owen,  Senator  Robert  L.,  72, 
189. 


Panders  and  Their  White 
Slaves,  296. 

Parallel  column,  evidence,  94. 

Parker,  Alton  B.,  43. 

Parks,  rubbish  barrels,  141; 
research  reports,  173,  233; 
popularized,  232 ;  padded 
payrolls,  232;  see  Play. 

Pasteurization,  see  Milk. 

Patent  medicines,  more  short 
cuts,  53;  reiterate,  104; 
great  American  fraud,  208- 
212;  money  spent  on,  210; 
fighting  national  health  bu- 
reau, 211. 

Patten,  Simon  N.,  223. 

Payroll,  see  Audit. 

People's  Lobby,  why  it  failed, 
111. 

Percentages,  ingredient  of  evi- 
dence, 90;  illustrations,  97; 
courses  needed,  97;  see 
100%. 

Personal  property,  lying 
about,  340,  341. 

Philadelphia  Bureau  of  Mu- 
nicipal Research,  Citizens' 
Business  bulletins,  127;  bal- 
ance sheet  for  city,  312;  on 
short  weights,  319;  on  pav- 
ing contracts,  335. 

Philadelphia  City  Club,  140. 

Philanthropy,  schools  of,  358. 

Pin  maps,  as  evidence,  95; 
transmissible  diseases,  95 ; 
traveling  libraries,  147; 
baby  deaths,  200,  204. 

Platform,  political,  sound 
alike,  26;  ballots  do  not 
make,  106;  summary  for 
states,  106;  1910,  by  sub- 
jects, 108. 


Play,  playgrounds,  started  by 
women,  140;  in  streets, 
maligned,  230;  in  parks, 
231-233;  needs  efficient 
government,  233;  soul  vs. 
supervision,  233,  255;  may 
women  be  injured  by,  236; 
for  schools,  helped  by  vol- 
unteers, 245;  at  school,  254- 
255;  court's  part,  291. 

Playground,  The,  234. 

Pocantico  Hills  school,  253. 

Police  efficiency,  in  N.  Y. 
City,  1910,  90;  department 
business  methods  studied, 
174;  eight  questions,  299; 
factors  involved,  301;  infor- 
mation lacking,  302 ;  testing, 
302;  "squeal  book,"  302; 
needs  to  be  studied,  304; 
agencies  not  yet  studied, 
305;  a  few  indexes,  306. 

Political  picnic,  women's,    17. 

Preferential  voting,  61;  in 
women's  clubs,  140. 

Prendergast,  William  A.,  166, 
328. 

Press,  comes  to  home,  3; 
parallel  columns,  94;  sys- 
tematizing use  of,  103-105; 
sources  of  power,  103;  to 
discuss  platforms,  107;  in 
watching  legislation,  109, 
112;  at  budget  hearings, 
122;  helpless  in  making 
state  budgets,  126;  supple- 
ment by  municipal  organ, 
126 ;  Efficient  Citizenship 
bulletins,  173;  instructs 
mothers  in  baby  welfare, 
202;  dirt  makes  news,  226; 
told  facts  about  physical 
defects,  248;  should  have 
school  stories,  272;  discus- 
sions of  crime,  282;  on 
training  for  public  work, 
358. 


372 


INDEX 


Preventable,  see  Transmissible 
diseases. 

Price  lists,  see  Purchase. 

Primary,  38 ;  see  Nominations. 

Principles  of  Sanitary  Science 
and  the  Public  Health,  189. 

Private  charities,  see  Giving. 

Probation,  needs  supervision, 
286-291;  means  of  corrup- 
tion, 286;  a  school  for 
crime,  288;  facts  before 
trial,  290. 

Problem  creator,  denned,  4; 
when  woman  is,  5. 

Programmes,  for  talks,  138; 
cumulative  effect,  139;  con- 
sult President  of  State  Fed- 
eration, 139 ;  preferential 
vote,  initiative  and  referen- 
dum, 140;  references,  140. 

Programmes,  for  work,  con- 
sult President  of  State  Fed- 
eration, 139 ;  references, 
140;  summary  needed,  142. 

Prohibition,  see  Alcoholism. 

Promises,  vs.  what  happens 
47. 

Provident  Loan  Ass'n,  156. 

Publicity,  see  Press  and  Evi- 
dence. 

Purchaser,  public  as,  320,  323 ; 
woman  as,  315,  317,  325; 
price  lists,  321;  central, 
saves  money,  326;  see 
Weights  and  Audit. 

Purdy,  Lawson,  340. 

Q 

Quigg,  Lemuel  E.,  110. 


Recall,  woman's  first  vote  in 
Seattle,  38,  75;  bound  to  be 
tried,  73;  short  cut,  74-77; 
applied  to  judges,  74,  77; 


Boston's  plan,  75;  removal 
on  evidence,  75;  if  often 
tried  will  fail,  76;  requires 
more  elections,  79;  a  nui- 
sance, 81 ;  of  Ahearn,  335. 

Records,  use  in  evidence,  90; 
citizen's  right  of  access  to, 
137;  see  Audit. 

Reference,  see  Library. 

Referendum,  short  cut,  68-70; 
in  Oregon,  68;  weaknesses, 
70;  no  substitute  for  knowl- 
edge, 71,  81;  official  hand 
book,  72;  danger  in,  71; 
means  longer  ballot,  79;  ad- 
vocates neglect  taxpayers' 
hearings,  117;  in  women's 
clubs,  140. 

Refuse  disposal,  women  co- 
operate, 141,  ^8;  in  keep- 
ing streets  clean,  2^4;  ref- 
erence, 229. 

Registration,  of  eligible  vot- 
ers, 35-36;  personal,  35; 
educational  test,  60;  of 
births  and  deaths,  180. 

Reichmann,  Fritz,  318. 

Relief,  for  constructive  policy, 
157;  unsound  lines  between 
public  and  private,  157-161; 
see  Giving. 

Results,  of  voting  testable,  39. 

Revenue,  report  on  methods 
of  collecting,  173;  as  result 
of  probation,  289;  balance 
sheet,  312-314;  watching, 
342;  careless  treatment  sub- 
sidizes grafters,  344;  tests 
for  your  town,  344. 

Rockefeller,  John  D.,  Jr.,  296, 
304. 

Rockefeller  Foundation,  168. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  41,  48, 
234,  238. 

Root,  Elihu,  9,  18. 

Rowe,  Clifford  G.,  296. 


INDEX 


373 


Sage,  Mrs.  Russell,  331,  337. 
Saloon,  see  Alcoholism. 
Sanitary  survey  of  factories, 
214;     of    streets,    227;    of 
schools,  246. 

Saturday    and    Sunday    Hos- 
pital Ass'n,  326. 
Schiff,  Jacob  H.,  119. 
School      attendance,      irregu- 
larity    costs     money,     253; 
child's   rights   to  be   found, 
255;  officers  found  grafting, 
255;  may  be  watched,  256; 
mortality  in  evening  schools, 
257;  half-day  absences,  257; 
attendance        officers        vs. 
courts,  291 ;  see  Child  labor. 
School     boards,     need     hand 
books,  30;  women  members, 
141 ;  what  they  should  know, 
267;   questions  by  local,  in 
N.  Y.  City,  268. 
School  census,  to  find  children, 
255;   continuous,  in   N.   Y. 
City,  256. 

School,  charitable,  need  com- 
pulsory health  requirements, 
251. 

School,  city  superintendents, 
asked  questions  about 
budget  needs,  121;  receives 
Efficient  Citizenship  bulle- 
tins, 173;  wants  outside  in- 
telligent help,  246;  told 
facts  about  physical  defects, 
248;  can  avoid  four  causes 
of  non-promotion,  260;  ef- 
fort to  promote,  testable, 
261 ;  have  needed  facts,  269 ; 
symposium  on  reports,  270; 
sent  report  on  sex  hygiene, 
296. 

School,  civic  instruction,  vol- 
unteer interest  in,  245;  by 
practice,  271;  14  next  steps, 
272. 


Schools,  cooperation  with, 
need  hand  books  on,  30; 
Oregon  women,  124;  moth- 
ers' meetings,  141;  studied, 
244,  245 ;  superintendents 
ask  for,  250. 
School  course,  complaints,  243, 

264. 

School  curriculum,  complaints, 
243,  265;  several  inquiries, 
266 ;  college  domination,  275. 
School  dental  clinics,  254; 
volunteer  dentists,  245 ; 
needs  obvious  in  faces,  253, 
254. 

School  gardens,  140. 
School  health,  adenoids  or- 
dered corrected,  3;  physical 
examination  for  work  pa- 
pers, 218;  and  clean  streets, 
226;  medical  inspection  for 
contagion,  245 ;  nurse  to  fol- 
low up,  245,  248,  249;  and 
philanthropy,  247;  needs 
outside  cooperation,  247 ; 
physical  defects  propagan- 
da, 249;  ventilation  needs 
watching,  247,  252-254;  in 
parochial  schools,  251;  jan- 
itor's part,  252;  in  rural 
schools,  252;  and  non-pro- 
motion, 252,  260;  reading 
health  index,  253. 
School  mortality,  causes,  259; 

how  to  watch,  262. 
School  non-promotion,  and 
physical  defects,  252;  how 
to  watch,  257-261;  vs.  ac- 
celeration, 258;  Dr.  White's 
study,  259;  13  reasons  for, 
260;  11  tests  of  effort  to 
stop,  261. 

School  reports,  show  oppor- 
tunities for  cooperation, 
246;  on  school  mortality, 
262;  press  will  use,  269;  a 
symposium,  270. 


374 


INDEX 


School  revenue,  249;  see 
Budget. 

School,  state  superintendents, 
greater  than  college  heads, 
237;  told  facts  about  phys- 
ical defects,  248;  on  shorter 
school  course,  265;  test 
teachers,  267;  needs  your 
support,  272;  new  era,  274; 
conferences  on  uniform  re- 
ports, 274;  bulletins,  275. 

School  supplies,  waste 
checked,  320. 

School  teachers,  need  friendly 
visitor,  246 ;  opportunities 
for  cooperation,  246;  effi- 
ciency watched,  247,  266; 
and  non-promotion,  260;  30 
tests,  267;  interested  in  sex 
hygiene,  296;  study  assess- 
ments, 338. 

School,  vacational  training 
for  1%  or  100%,  168;  vol- 
unteer interest  in,  245;  50 
criticisms,  243. 

School  principals  study  re- 
tardation, 260. 

School,  private,  need  compul- 
sory health,  251. 

School  population,  figures  use- 
less, 256. 

School  Progress  and  School 
Facts,  174. 

Schools,  pupil  self-govern- 
ment, league  for,  141;  na- 
tional clearing  house,  262; 
five  reasons  for,  263;  in  col- 
leges, 263;  women's  clubs 
may  help,  264. 


Schools  of  Philanthropy,  358. 
Score  cards,  see  Milk,  T 


each- 


Seattle,  recall  of  mayor,  38, 

75. 

Sedgwick,  William  T.,  189. 
Segregation,  see  Social  evil. 
Sentiment,  public,  educated  or 


miseducated  by  elections, 
45;  open  eye  needed,  88; 
will  compel  law  enforce- 
ment, 214;  judges  claims  of 
sex,  236;  vs.  saloon-dealt  r, 
298;  to  study  police  effi- 
ciency, 307. 

Settlements,  workers  good 
"mixers,"  17. 

Sex,  special  claims,  234-237; 
see  Social  evil. 

Shepard,  Edward  M.,  47. 

Shepherdson,  William,  79. 

Sheppard,  James  J.,  267. 

Short  ballot,  short  cut,  63;  na- 
tional ass'n,  65;  need  not  be 
effective,  67;  and  referen- 
dum, 68;  aid  to  politician, 
81. 

Short  Ballot  Association,  65. 

Short  cuts,  women  will  expe- 
riment, 35;  disappointing, 
49,  67;  to  efficient  govern- 
ment, 53-81;  lead  back  to 
next  steps,  81;  helped  by 
pin  maps,  200. 

Sickness  rate,  see  Baby  sav- 
ing. 

Smuggling,  women's  part,  18; 
as  an  equilibrator,  20. 

Snedden,  David  S.,  273,  274, 
275. 

Social  evil,  demand  for  in- 
struction, 3;  women's  part 
in,  19;  reason  for  trying 
short  cuts,  81;  near 
churches,  153;  and  patent 
medicines,  210;  can  women 
stop,  291-294;  danger  of 
being  morbid,  292;  poverty 
cause,  293;  as  sex  hygiene 
will  be  taught,  293;  segre- 
gation defended  by  a  mayor, 
294;  studied  in  Chicago, 
296;  references,  296;  fos- 
tered by  police,  300;  and 
employment  agencies,  305. 


INDEX 


S75 


Social  service,  see  Nursing. 

Speedwell  Society,  205. 

Specifications,  see  Audit. 

State  Board  of  Charities,  159. 

State  Charities  Aid  Ass'ns, 
159,  205. 

State  health,  see  Health. 

State  Official  Gazette,  70. 

Stevens,  Mrs.  Robert  L.,  248. 

Stevens,  Rob't  L.,  Fund  for 
Municipal  Research  in  Ho- 
boken,  12T,  248,  316. 

Street,  unclean,  reason  for 
trying  short  cuts,  81;  near 
churches,  153;  requiring 
paving,  95;  rubbish  barrels, 
141;  children  help  clean, 
222;  clean  or  unclean,  222- 
228 ;  cleaners  encouraged, 
223;  helping  officials,  225; 
annual  cleaning  not  enough, 
225;  monthly  tour  of  in- 
spection, 225;  where  unfor- 
givable, 226;  sanitary  sur- 
vey, 227;  Waring  Brigades, 
228;  see  Play. 

Street  building  tests,  334. 

Strikes,  come  to  homes,  3. 

Subtraction,  in  evidence,  87- 
100. 

Suffrage,  society,  how  to  or- 
ganize, 30;  defeat  in  Ore- 
gon, 70,  72;  to  be  tried,  73; 
will  disappoint,  81 ;  see  Vot- 
ing and  Ballot. 

Summary,  of  evidence,  87-100. 

Sunday  school,  women  in,  7. 

Superintendent,   see   Schools. 

Superiority,  of  women,  18, 
25 

Survey,  The,  142,  144,  146, 159, 
191,  205,  225,  291. 

Sweat-shop,  comes  to  homes, 
3. 

T 

Taft,  President,  9,  43,  46,  92, 
238,  283,  321. 


Talbot,  C.  H.,  72. 

Tammany  Hall,  fraudulent 
votes  for,  41 ;  living  up  to 
platform,  46;  never  openly 
defends  wrong,  60;  history 
of,  89. 

Tarbell,  Miss  Ida,  14. 

Tariff,  evasion,  107. 

Taxes,  withheld,  5,  19,  340; 
and  voting,  56;  see  Budget 
and  Audit. 

Taxpayers,  direct  and  indi- 
rect, 56;  hearings,  on 
budget,  115;  seldom  used  by 
advocates  of  referendum 
and  initiative,  117;  organ- 
izations more  effective  with 
facts,  118. 

Teachers,  see  Schools. 

Tentative,  see  Budget. 

Tenement,  see  Overcrowding. 

Tenure  of  office,  80. 

Tests,  for  bacteria  in  milk, 
192,  194;  of  factory  condi- 
tions, 213-216;  of  public 
decency,  279;  of  efficient 
purchasing,  321;  of  schools, 
effort  to  promote,  261;  of 
teachers  by  state,  267;  see 
Audit  and  Evidence. 

Theater,  comes  to  homes,  3; 
women  support,  7;  block 
housing  reform,  220. 

Time  sheets,  see  Audit. 

Training,  for  participation  in 
government,  357-358. 

Transmissible  diseases,  not 
from  Providence,  5,  53;  pin 
maps,  95;  next  steps,  178, 
184;  stamping  out,  182- 
189;  individuals  cannot 
stop,  184;  exclusion  from 
school,  184;  carelessness  in 
whooping  cough,  185 ; 
women  may  watch,  186; 
cost  in  your  town,  187;  cats 
and  whiskers,  188;  and  na- 


376 


INDEX 


tional  bureau  of  health,  188 ; 
typhoid  and  polluted  water, 
189;  references,  189;  and 
unclean  streets,  224 ;  checked 
by  medical  inspection,  252; 
of  sex,  292,  296. 

Trusteeship,  law  of,  135;  not 
dependent  on  ballot,  136; 
binding  effect  on  officers, 
137;  in  search  for  culture, 
138. 

Truancy  and  probation,  291. 

Typhoid,  see  Transmissible 
diseases. 

Typhoid  Fever,  189. 

Tuberculosis,  farms  to  cure, 
4;  pin  maps,  95;  deaths  and 
cases  classified,  99;  in  cat- 
tle permitted,  116;  Red 
Cross  stamps  vs.  official  re- 
ports, 128;  suffers  from 
fraudulent  appeals,  165; 
state  wide  fight,  179;  and 
milk,  195 ;  and  patent  medi- 
cines, 210. 

Tweed,  Boss,  89. 

U 

Unit  of  inquiry,  in  Evidence, 
87-100. 

U.  S.  Brewers'  Ass'n,  299. 

U.  S.  bureau  of  animal  in- 
dustry, 195. 

U.  S.  bureau  of  census,  204, 
238. 

U.  S.  bureau  of  education, 
130,  237,  259,  272,  275. 

U.  S.  bureau  of  food  inspec- 
tion, 211. 

Uplift  work,  see  Giving. 


tional  effort  to  prevent, 
146. 

Vice  Commission  of  Chicago, 
296. 

Visiting  committees,  159. 

Vocational  training,  see 
Schools. 

Voluntary  associations,  see 
Topics. 

Voting,  woman's  duty  inde- 
pendent of,  4;  vs.  getting 
things  done,  5;  do  women 
want,  9;  danger  of  ignorant, 
20;  result  of  woman's  where 
tried,  20,  26;  stay-at-home 
vote,  36,  40,  45,  62;  cost  of, 
39;  results  testable,  39;  get- 
ting out,  40;  for  pay,  40, 
57;  protected,  41-42;  inter- 
preted, 42-44;  disappoint- 
ments, 44-45;  number  of 
voters,  54;  age  limits,  55; 
property  qualification,  56; 
as  right  demanded  by 
women,  57;  for  industrial 
reasons,  58;  personal  inter- 
est, 58;  educational  qualifi- 
cation, 58;  preferential,  61; 
compulsory,  62;  fewer  elec- 
tions, 79;  national  separate 
from  state,  80;  often  dis- 
franchises, 82 ;  overempha- 
sis on,  82;  what  it  cannot 
do,  83;  does  not  mean  infor- 
mation, 84;  need  of  evi- 
dence, 89;  volunteer  voters' 
leagues,  105;  making  plat- 
forms, 106;  for  new  laws, 
108 ;  taxpayers'  hearings, 
117;  see  Ballot. 


Vagrancy,  when  women  tol- 
erate,  5;  in  begging,  145; 
police  often  help,  146;  na- 


W 

Waring,  Geo.  E.,  228. 
Waste,    do    women    ever,    19; 
no  majority  ever  voted  for, 


INDEX 


377 


46;  graft,  64,  65;  reason  for 
trying  short  cuts,  81;  not 
controlled  by  ballot,  83;  en- 
couraged by  state  budget 
making,  126;  in  hospital 
supplies,  321;  caused  by 
lack  of  inspection,  325; 
typical,  331 ;  typical  losses 
in  revenues,  342;  see  Audit. 

Watchers,  women  act  as,  36. 

Water,  insured  clean,  189- 
190. 

Weights  and  measures,  short 
for  women  purchasers,  315; 
not  confined  to  cities,  316; 
constant  inspection  needed, 
317;  some  tests,  318;  refer- 
ences, 319;  in  budget  ex- 
hibit, 320. 

West,  Paul,  224. 

Whipple,  George  C.,  189. 

White,  Emerson  E.,  259. 

White  slave,  see  Social  evil. 

Whitlock,  Brand,  294. 

Whitney,   Miss   Dorothy,  247. 

Will  making,  see  Giving. 

Wilson,  H.  W.,  Company,  79. 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  65. 


Womans'  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union,  299. 

Women's  clubs,  educational 
committees,  should  write  up 
school  work  done,  247;  Na- 
tional Federation's  work  for 
schools,  247;  in  Oregon,  250; 
questions  on  school  health, 
253;  see  Programmes. 

Woman's  interest,  in  method, 
29;  evolution  of,  35-36. 

Woman's  Municipal  Leagues, 
225. 

Woman's  rights,  to  ballot,  9; 
to  make  mistakes,  21. 

Woman's  Trade  Union 
League,  216. 

Women's  Welfare  Auxiliary 
of  Nat'l  Civic  Federation, 
213,  215. 

Working  papers,  physical 
tests,  218. 

Wyoming,  woman's  vote,  20, 
21. 


Young,  Ella  Flagg,  38. 


URN 


CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

202  Main  Library 


642-3403 


N  PERIOD  1 
HOME  USE 

2 

3 

5 

6 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
1 -month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405 
mth  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books  to  Circulation  Desk 
enewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


SL  CHfc      FEB  1  5  '77 

0V  14  1993 

l£rfh 

- 

"^  OLD  »/•*«•> 

'-  S3 

cm  I  ON  JLL 

'UN  1  7  2004 

'•  C.  BERKELEY 

A  NO.  DD  6,  40m,  6'76 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


I d    UO J  /  J 


\j*X 


U.C.BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


326670 

- 

5 


